Wildfires give no rest to fire crews

Many were related
to controlled burns

By JUDD WEIL

Staff writer

A spike in small, fast-moving fires, many tied to controlled burns, kept area departments busy last week.

Grass fires, brush fires, and burn-related flare-ups made up a steady stream of calls across Marion County. They often required multi-department responses.

At least eight fire-related incidents were logged between March 18 and Monday, ranging from routine controlled burns to out-of-control fires and mutual aid deployments.

Several calls were directly tied to controlled burns.

A bale fire inside a shed near a burn site on 190th Rd. required response from Hillsboro firefighters. Marion and Peabody crews were initially dispatched to help before the call to them was canceled.

Another controlled burn near 220th and Turkey Creek Rds. grew out of control Friday before being extinguished within 45 minutes.

Firefighters also responded to reportedly unauthorized burning Saturday in Lincolnville and conducted or monitored multiple planned burns, including at Marion Country Club and near K-15.

Beyond controlled burns, departments handled a series of grass and brush fires across the area.

A grass fire near Goessel was mostly extinguished before crews arrived, while another at US-56/77 and 200 Ave. in Dickinson County required assistance from multiple departments, including Lost Springs and Lincolnville.

Crews from Lincolnville, Lost Springs, and Marion battled a large grass fire and burning brush piles south of 280th and Zebulon Rds. early Friday, bringing it under control within about 90 minutes.

Additional fires included a hedge row blaze east of Us-56/77 and smoldering trees near 120th and Indigo Rds., both contained within about an hour.

The volume of calls extended beyond county lines.

Firefighters from multiple departments were dispatched to assist wildfire task forces in Riley County and Andover, and Burns firefighters responded to a grass fire near El Dorado.

Despite the number of incidents, most fires were contained quickly, often before spreading significantly or requiring prolonged operations.

Still, the frequency of calls, particularly those tied to controlled burns, highlighted seasonal fire risk as landowners clear fields and vegetation ahead of spring.