Containment levels of fires in several counties are at 70 percent and greater
Zane Jackson embraces her daughter, Shelby Jackson, as they arrive to see their destroyed home for the first time in the Highlands subdivision on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Hutchinson, Kan. The home was destroyed in the wildfires Monday night. (Lindsey Bauman/The Hutchinson News via AP)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Officials say wildfires that have charred more than 1,100 square miles in Kansas are under control, prompting the state to withdraw response teams from the firefighting effort.
The Kansas Division of Emergency Management said Friday that crews in Clark County have a blaze there 70 percent contained. Containment levels in Kansas’ Comanche, Ellis, Reno and Rooks counties exceed 90 percent.
The blaze that encompassed Comanche and Clark counties along Kansas’ southern border with Oklahoma is the biggest wildfire on record in Kansas.
Since erupting last weekend, wildfires had been reported in 21 Kansas counties.
Although Kansas has no burn ban in effect, the state’s emergency management agency warns there’s still potential for grassfires because of dry conditions statewide.
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