Suspected electrical fire burns about 400 acres in Barber County Friday
March 9, 2022
A wild grass fire was called into Barber County, Kansas Friday around 4 p.m. That's according to Barber County Fire Chief Roger Robison who said the flames destroyed about 400 acres.
The fire broke out just north and west of Chad Forester's home on Gerlaine Road. That road runs east and west about a mile north of Hazelton all the way west to U.S. Highway 281.
Robison said the fire was about one-half mile west of Forester's. The chief said he suspects the fire was “electrical related.” He said they found burnt material under an electrical pole.
From that point, Robison said the fire moved north burning another half-mile – making the estimated 400 acre loss.
The fire chief said they returned to their fire station in Kiowa around 9 p.m. “It's not easy country to get around in,” Robison said of the uneven ground. Temperatures on Friday were near 70 degrees with wind gusts to 30-35 mph, he estimated.
When asked about a rumor that Medicine Lodge's Fire Department had a fire truck turn-over, he replied, “Yes, Medicine Lodge had a truck turned over on its side. It was in the rough terrain – you can't see in the smoke.” Robison said the firefighters got their truck turned upright and used the truck again that day and the next. “No one was hurt,” he said.
The next day, Saturday, March 5, another fire ignited in the same area. Chief Robison said flames burned around an abandoned oil field house, burning about 15 percent of the structure.
“I'd call that a suspicious fire,” Robison said. It happened around 5:30 p.m. “It had been over 24 hours.” He said it took about 45 minutes to extinguish.
Robison thanked all the Barber County fire departments that helped fight these fires: Elwood, Lake City, Kiowa, Medicine Lodge, Hazelton and Sharon.
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