Grass Fires

Fire!

March 31, 2016

By Terry Bailey

A small fire that began as either a controlled burn or a spontaneous ignition in Woods County, Oklahoma was reported to local authorities at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22^nd. The fire, driven by high winds and tinder-dry conditions, defied the initial efforts to contain it and soon hopped the imaginary state border and was ablaze in Barber County, Kansas. It soon became the largest grassfire in Kansas recorded history.

The fire quickly outstripped the capacity of local Kansas firefighting units. The topography of the area conspired with the shifting winds and dry conditions to deny the local firefighters the ability to snuff it. Barber County and the surrounding counties are known as ranch country. This means miles and miles of wide open pasture land highlighted by deep gullies and ravines filled with scrub oak and cedar trees. This perfect fuel for a prairie fire was located in areas inaccessible to the firefighters.

A call soon went out asking for help from any firefighting units that could respond to the crisis. That is the American Way. When our neighbors need help, we all pitch in and help.

Larry Heidrick, long-standing Fire Chief of Mitchell County Rural Fire District #1, was watching TV early Thursday morning when he saw the announcement for firefighting crews to help with the wildfire. At 8:00 that morning Heidrick called the number and gave the required information about his equipment and crew members.

At 11:00 that morning he received a return call from the Forestry Department in Manhattan requesting specific and exact information. What type of vehicle could he bring? How many crew members? What type of experience and/or training did they possess?

Heidrick received a call back at 2:00 inquiring if they were still interesting in assisting. He insured them he was. He was instructed to head south at all due speed and they would be assigned duty to the night shift.

The crew arrived in Medicine Lodge at 6:30 p.m. and reported to the Staging Area and was directed to the Command Center. They checked in, ready to be dispatched to a work area. Because shifts ran from 7 pm to 7 am they were told because the shift was about to change, they should report back at 7 am for the morning shift. They were directed to the mess hall where they would find a meal and directions for a shower and then to a cot in the gymnasium area.

The Mitchell County firefighters learned that whatever they might need, it was provided almost immediately. Need a toothbrush? Here is one for you. Don’t have a towel or washcloth? Here they are. Need Chap Stick, sunscreen, sunglasses, handkerchiefs and on and on. They were provided almost immediately.

The First Christian Church was the contact group for food service. Food was home cooked very well and offered in very generous quantities. Water and Gatorade were available in very generous quantities. Heidrick commented, “They wouldn’t let you take just one or two bottles of water. They insisted we take a whole case. We took it and we used it up very quickly.”

One thing the firefighters commented on was the wide array of vehicles in the town. Heidrick commented “The streets in Medicine Lodge are unusually wide. Outside the annex where we stayed, there was a row of firetrucks along one side of the street for a block and a half long. Then there was another row of trucks on the other side of the street a block and a half long. Then there was a row of trucks down the middle of the street a block and a half long. All kinds of shapes and sizes and colors of firefighting vehicles lined up right there. And these were just the trucks for the shift that was off duty. When the sun came up, these trucks would be sent out and be replaced by the ones currently in the field.”

At this point the District One Fire Fighters had nothing to do but get a good night’s sleep so they could jump up rested and refreshed to fight fires all day long. Most were on an adrenaline high, trying to sleep on a camping cot in a gym full of strange noises. It was an uneasy night, but they reported for duty the next morning ready to face the unknown.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA