McPherson firefighters return from battling massive southwest Kansas wildfires
Local crews deploy to Clark and Meade counties as part of statewide task force
MCPHERSON, Kan. — Local firefighters are back home safely after a grueling five-day deployment to southwest Kansas, where they joined emergency personnel from across the state to battle massive wildfires that scorched tens of thousands of acres and forced rural residents to evacuate.
The McPherson Fire Department dispatched a rotating team of four to six personnel, a 600-gallon brush truck, a 3,000-gallon pumper-tender and a command vehicle to the region, according to Fire Chief Chad Mayberry. The mobilization began Friday morning following a request from the State Emergency Operations Center — an agency operating under the administration of Gov. Laura Kelly. After initially staging in Bucklin, the McPherson crews were assigned to a task force fighting a fast-moving blaze west of Ashland in Clark County.
Throughout the weekend, the department's day and night crews worked alternating shifts on the front lines, battling the Clark County blaze and assisting with the massive Meade Lake fire in neighboring Meade County. The grueling assignment included a mid-deployment rotation, with crews returning to McPherson at noon Sunday to regroup before a fresh team headed back to the fire lines Sunday night. According to state fire management officials, the Meade County fire rapidly consumed nearly 93,000 acres as crews faced extreme weather conditions, including triple-digit temperatures and wind gusts up to 45 mph.
Following a final night on the fire lines Monday, the McPherson team entered a brief rest period Tuesday morning before demobilizing, safely returning all personnel and apparatus to the station by 9 p.m. Tuesday. Mayberry said the department was honored to assist the exhausted local agencies, noting the deployment also provided valuable real-world experience for several younger firefighters. He urged the community to continue keeping those directly impacted by the devastating wildfires in their thoughts and prayers.
Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below:
