Fire forces evacuation of Setanta

Fire forces evacuation of Satanta


BY STAN FINGER
The Wichita Eagle

A large grass fire, whipped along by relentless winds, swallowed more than a dozen square miles and forced the evacuation of Satanta in southwest Kansas on Sunday afternoon.

"The entire town," a Kansas Highway Patrol dispatcher said of Satanta's 1,200 residents in southwest Haskell County, about 42 miles southwest of Garden City.

Most of the people went to nearby Sublette, where the Southwest Kansas Red Cross was preparing to feed scores of people at the high school, said Carolyn Henry, director of the chapter.

"There's people coming in, more and more all the time," to the high school, she said.

Firefighters welcomed the arrival of a cold front in the area early Sunday evening, which shifted winds to the north and dropped temperatures by about 20 degrees in half an hour, Henry said.

"That will bring up the humidity, which will slow down the fire," she said.

The wind shift meant Satanta was spared, Henry said. The command post overseeing the firefighting effort moved into Satanta at about 6:30 p.m.

"They are very secure" that the city will be spared, Henry said.

About 40 residents of a nursing home in Satanta were taken to a nursing home in Garden City for care, she said.

All roads into Satanta remained closed because of heavy smoke limiting visibility, a Kansas Highway Patrol dispatcher said Sunday evening.

The fire had burned about 12 square miles as of about 4 p.m., said Marc Russell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Dodge City.

It was being fed by westerly winds blowing steadily at 25 to 35 mph and gusting to 40 at times.

Fire departments from throughout the region were battling the fire,

Russell said, but the winds and dry conditions made it difficult.

The mood among displaced Satanta residents was remarkably calm, Henry said. Most went to stay with friends or family in the area.

"People in southwest Kansas are very independent," she said. "The biggest concern was getting the elderly people out of the nursing home to Garden City.

"People are just wondering now what they're going to go home to."

A warning was issued Sunday for more than 60 counties in Kansas, including all of southern Kansas. The winds ahead of the cold front sent the fire threat soaring along with the temperatures.

Steady winds topped 30 mph at times in the Wichita area, and gusts approached 50.

Firefighters in Butler County battled two grass fires on Sunday, including a large one that burned more than 700 acres southwest of El Dorado.

Crews from seven fire departments battled the blaze, El Dorado Fire Capt. Max Brown said.

"It got big quick," Brown said.

It took firefighters more than four hours to put out the fire, Brown said. The cause remains under investigation.

The warning is set to remain in effect until 1 p.m. today, according to the National Weather Service.