In March 2016, a wildfire reached Barber and Comanche counties, resulting in the loss of 750 cattle, 11 homes and 2,700 miles of fence. Its estimated $30 million in damage was caused within the region.
One year later, Meade, Clark and Comanche counties found their lands ablaze in fire. This one would cost one man his life, in addition to the loss of 4,000 cattle, 26 homes and 3,700 miles of fence. All told, the fire caused $50 million in damages.
This prompted a bipartisan group of legislators to request an audit of the states wildfire management system. Auditors were then tasked with answering one question: Is Kansas wildfire suppression system adequately designed and resourced to effectively suppress wildfires.
Unsurprisingly, the audit exposed a flawed system that needs significant improvements and additional funding in order to minimize wildfire damages in the future.
In fact, Kansas spends only $4.50 per square mile on fire suppression compared to South Dakotas $19.20 per square mile and Texass $144.83.
We werent surprised to learn the effort suffers from inadequate resources, though it did startle us to discover how ineptly the system works. The Forest Service has the equipment needed to battle wildfires but lacks the resources to effectively deploy them. The State Fire Marshals office serves as the lead agency for wildfire suppression efforts yet has no supporting resources or the expertise to provide wildfire-specific training.
Local firefighting teams with no specialized training in wildfire suppression are often called to the front lines, while local governments have to absorb many of the costs, knowing theres no guarantee theyll be reimbursed later through FEMA for their expenses.
This is unacceptable. With the number of wildfires expected to increase in coming years, Kansas cant afford to ignore the improvement opportunities illuminated in the audit.
Not only should the solution declare one agency the lead, but it should also include the additional funding necessary to build out a trained network of individuals who have the equipment and resources needed when fires break out in Kansas.
We simply cannot afford to have fires that devastate thousands of acres and cause millions in damages.
Its said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. When it comes to suppressing fires, we certainly believe additional resources channeled through one well-trained agency is a good step toward ensuring we can fight fires when they happen and stop them long before theyre covering thousands of acres.
We commend the legislators who advocated for the discovery of this information. Now they need to work together to act on the auditors recommendations as soon as they return to Topeka in January.
The Topeka Capital-Journal
The audit exposed a flawed system that needs significant improvements and additional funding in order to minimize wildfire damages in the future.
