GIRARD, Kan. — Crawford County Emergency Manager briefed the county commissioners, Friday, after recently returning from wildfires in southwest Kansas.
Quinton Parsons accompanied 11 area firefighters from District 1 (Baker), District 2 (Arma Rural), and District 4 (Crawford Township) fire departments to Ashland, Kansas, at 5 a.m. last Sunday morning. Joining up with seven firefighters from Labette County, the 19-man unit went to work almost immediately upon their arrival in Ashland at noon.
Their first assignment was to watch for hotspots around the Proffitt Lake fire. At one point, the fire flared back up but the team was able to regain control before being relieved at 9 p.m.
Arriving back at Ashland, the team was told they were being transferred to Dodge City to help with the Herman Ranch fire. Arriving in Dodge around midnight, Parsons said the team would be allowed to rest until noon.
At 6 a.m., the call came in and the team geared up, arriving near the ranch fire around 8 a.m. They set to work, checking for hotspots when, around noon, the fire reignited behind them and quickly grew. The team backtracked four-and-a-half miles over rough terrain and were the first on-scene and began engaging the fire. They remained on-site until the fire was brought under control and then were sent back towards Ashland.
Once back in Ashland and joined by Ashland firefighters acting as guides, the team went to work protecting local homes. After what was a 15-hour day, surrounded in complete darkness and being unfamiliar with the local topography, the team deemed any further operations to be unsafe and called it a night.
They headed back to their hotel, ate dinner, and got to bed around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning. The crews returned to southeast Kansas later that day.
According to Parsons, more than 200 Kansas firefighters from 52 counties responded, plus additional crews from seven states. A total of 127,000 acres burned.
“I’m very proud of our guys,” Parsons told the commissioners. “They worked well together. They were able to adapt to different assignments. They did a fantastic job.”
This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews
