Kansas firefighting officials are working to improve state wildfire response, prevention and education following the release of a report from Gov. Laura Kelly’s wildfire task force.

The 2023 report provided 30 recommendations for responding to and preventing large fires, improving risk forecasts, and enhancing volunteer fire departments.

Kansas fire marshal Mark Engholm said the report included a need for improved communication across fire departments, and for more robust support of the state’s 600 independent fire departments. Roughly 95% of the state’s firefighters are volunteers, and Engholm — a former volunteer firefighter — said they provide nearly a billion dollars a year in free services to the state of Kansas.

“We’re looking at ways the state can bolster that,” Engholm said.

One method that’s being explored is an equipment-sharing and reimbursement program Engholm is developing alongside Marion County fire officials. Lincolnville fire chief Lester Kaiser said he’s working on a “living document” that will establish three tiers of wildfire task forces within the state. Each of those task forces would have its own firefighting staff and equipment that would be available for contract through the state Fire Marshal’s Office for a negotiated hourly fee.

The goal behind this program is to improve the quality of equipment and training among rural departments, garner compensation for volunteer firefighters, and improve overall fire safety in Kansas, Kaiser said.

“I think it’s a step forward, a step in the right direction,” Kaiser said. “A lot of volunteers do not wish to be paid for their services, but if you’re going to ask someone to step away from their job for a day or two to fight a fire, then there needs to be some sort of compensation.”

As a method of fire prevention, the authors of the report encouraged the removal of woody encroachment with a particular focus on the Eastern red cedar, a conifer that grows in rockier outcroppings and dryer soil throughout Kansas.

The scope of woody encroachment was revealed in 2016 when the Anderson Creek fire scorched 300,000 acres in Comanche and Barber counties, and in 2017 with the 460,000-acre Starbuck fire in Clark, Meade, and Comanche counties. Residential areas came under threat in 2022 when the Cottonwood fire in Reno County killed one person, burned more than 6,000 acres, and destroyed 36 homes, 92 outbuildings and 110 vehicles.

Landon Ochsner, landscape designer with Kansas City-based SWT Design, said his work with municipalities and urban planners has led to an understanding of how wildfires can potentially impact the vegetation in an area. He said the Eastern red cedar is a “nuisance species” that is actually a breed of juniper.

“Since they’re a natural prairie species, they’re pretty tough trees,” Ochsner said.

Ochsner recommended prescribed burning for curbing Eastern red cedar growth, but the plant must be burned as a sapling. Burning Eastern red cedars that have grown more than a few feet tall will kill the plant, but its root system will regenerate, and it’ll have to be dug out, Ochsner said.

Aaron Williams, Kansas Forest Service fire management officer for the southwest district, said most fires in Kansas are wind-driven fires: The higher the wind speed, the greater the fire danger is generally going to be. Williams recommended homeowners make their properties less susceptible to fires.

“One thing folks can do, if they’re looking at a new roof or something for their house, non-combustible shingles are a big deal,” Williams said. “Beyond that, looking at landscaping around the house. We generally like to see three to five feet of separation from anything that’s flammable.”

Williams said firewood piles should be situated away from the house and dryer vents should be properly maintained to avoid the possibility of embers catching it on fire.

“Anywhere around the house that can catch an ember and hold them or let them heat up to a flame, any of that stuff is going to be problematic,” Williams said.

Williams also recommends property owners burn brush or trash piles responsibly by adhering to red flag warnings and checking the wind speed and direction two to three days ahead of time.

“You can have a perfect day right now to burn a brush pile, but if the wind picks up the day after tomorrow, it’ll sling those embers out and potentially start a fire,” Williams said.

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Story via Kansas Reflector