WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — March 6 is burned into his memory.

A howling north wind caught Brandon Grigsby off guard. It blew a wildfire toward his home and livestock, scattered his family and friends. In the smoke, they became disoriented and lost contact with one another. The firestorm left carcasses — of valued animals and prized trees — on his 600-acre ranch north of Ashland.

But the fire didn't take what matters most to Grigsby, a bank loan officer who raises cattle on the side. Grigsby, 39, fully appreciates how bad it could have been. The thought brought him to tears last week as he described...