Firefighters are heading into their third straight day battling multiple wildfires across southwest Kansas and the Oklahoma panhandle, with crews making some progress but still facing significant challenges.
The most destructive blaze remains the Ranger Road Fire, which had scorched more than 283,000 acres and was only about 15% contained as of early Thursday morning. The fire ignited Tuesday in Beaver County, Oklahoma before pushing northeast into Clark County, Kansas. It forced evacuations in the towns of Englewood and Ashland, and Ashland schools will remain closed for the rest of the week.
There was some encouraging news on another front: crews have largely gotten a handle on the Andrew Lane Fire, which had been burning southeast of Liberal. That fire consumed an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 acres before firefighters gained the upper hand, according to the National Weather Service in Dodge City.
Meanwhile, the Stevens and Side Road fires — burning in the Oklahoma panhandle and parts of Seward County, Kansas — torched more than 16,000 acres combined in a single 24-hour stretch. By Thursday morning, the Stevens Fire, which burned over 12,400 acres, was about 50% contained, while the Side Road Fire was 60% contained after burning more than 3,600 acres.
Kansas State Fire Marshal Mark Engholm shared aerial photos Thursday showing firefighting aircraft assisting ground crews in making headway against the flames. He also noted that the state has positioned a firefighting task force in southeast Kansas ahead of forecast Red Flag conditions expected in that region.