Tag: Kansas

Kansas National Guard deploys helicopters to wildfires burning in Kansas

High winds, low humidity and kindling in the form of dry grasses made the state susceptible to fires

by Allison Kite, Kansas Reflector

Kansas City, Missouri — The Kansas National Guard will deploy helicopters in an effort to put out wildfires in several counties in central and western Kansas, several state departments said in a news release Thursday.

Gov. Laura Kelly declared a state of disaster emergency last week because of the risk of fire.

According to the news release, the Kansas Army National Guard will deploy Black Hawk helicopters to assist local responders in areas that are difficult for ground crews to reach. The Kansas Forest Service will also have air tankers on standby.

“Prepositioning firefighting personnel and equipment in western Kansas along with those assets responding will allow our aviation assets to quickly respond and keep Kansans safe,” Kelly said in the news release. “Local responders work heroically to respond when wildland fires threaten their communities and the state stands ready to back them up, if needed.”

Low humidity and abundant dry grass made the state susceptible to wildfires. Wednesday’s extraordinary storm system, which brought winds of more than 100 mph in some parts of Kansas, only added to that risk.

Scott Blair, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Kansas City, Missouri, said in some cases, power lines blown over in the high winds started grass fires.

Though the extraordinary weather system also brought thunderstorms, high winds started long before and continued after the rain. Those winds made putting out fires more difficult.

The winds also brought smoke from the fires east across the state, affecting the air quality in Topeka and Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday night.

While the winds have died down, risk of wildfires across central and western Kansas remained Thursday, according to the news release. Most of Kansas is in an enhanced, significant or critical fire danger outlook.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/12/16/kansas-national-guard-deploys-helicopters-to-wildfires-burning-in-kansas/

I-70 closed in western Kansas

I-70 westbound was closed in western Kansas this afternoon.

The Kansas Department of Transportation extended the westbound I-70 closure from Salina to the Colorado state line, and another closure continues on I-70 from Goodland to Russell, Kansas.

Both directions of I-70 reopened to traffic on Wednesday afternoon.

Numerous other highways in western and south central Kansas also were closed because of low visibility from blowing dust and crashes blocking roadways, according to KDOT. They reopened later in the day.

Additional closures were expected to continue into the evening, according to KDOT.

For up-to-date information on Kansas highways, visit www.kandrive.org or call 511 in Kansas. For information about Kansas City area highways, visit kcscout.net.

Weather updates are at www.weather.gov.

Kansas Chamber PAC wades into attorney general primary for first time

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Republican attorney general candidate Kellie Warren was endorsed Tuesday by the political action committee of the Kansas Chamber organization.

The Kansas Chamber PAC opted for the state senator from Leawood rather than GOP candidates Kris Kobach, the former secretary of state, and Tony Mattivi, a former federal prosecutor. The Democrat in the 2022 campaign is attorney Chris Mann.

Jennifer Baysinger, a Kansas Chamber staff member who oversees the political action committee, said the board of directors of the PAC met with the three GOP candidates. The board voted unanimously to endorse Warren in the August primary.

She said Warren had been an advocate for the business community during one term in the Kansas House and since transitioning to the Senate in 2021.

The Kansas Chamber PAC hadn’t previously made endorsements in primaries for statewide offices. Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican, is seeking the party’s nomination for governor.

“The PAC’s historic endorsement speaks to the urgency and importance that the Republican nominee not only be the candidate who best supports businesses but also who has a path to victory in the November general election,” Baysinger said.

She said there was concern in the “Kansas business community” that Kobach and Mattivi wouldn’t effectively represent interests of businesses in court.

Warren, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she was humbled by the endorsement from the political arm of the Kansas Chamber. She said it was understood the Kansas attorney general must push back against federal COVID-19 mandates and other government overreach into the business community by the administration of President Joe Biden.

“The importance of this role was made crystal clear as state attorneys general became the first line of defense against President Biden’s illegal vaccine mandates. We simply cannot trust such an important role to an individual who has repeatedly failed conservatives so visibly in past court cases,” Warren said.

In the past, Kobach lost campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate. Mattivi doesn’t have prior experience in elective politics.

Mattivi, who worked about 20 years for the U.S. Department of Justice, said he had never and would not be “beholden to any special interest.”

“My campaign continues to receive broad support from voters and business people across the state and especially from law enforcement and concerned citizens,” Mattivi said. “We will continue to focus on the real problems facing Kansans and as Kansas attorney general I will keep Kansas safe and strong.”

Kobach, who served as secretary of state for two terms, said he appreciated the Kansas Chamber’s endorsement of his 2018 campaign for governor and anticipated working with the business organization as attorney general.

“For more than a decade I battled the ACLU in federal courts across the country showing I will be an effective defender of Kansas businesses in court,” Kobach said.

He said he had two pending lawsuits against the administration of President Joe Biden regarding executive actions on COVID-19 vaccination mandates and the deportation of illegal immigrants.

“We will win those suits in court, and I will continue to fight the unconstitutional actions of the Biden administration as the next Kansas attorney general,” Kobach said.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/kansas-chamber-pac-wades-into-attorney-general-primary-for-first-time/