A Fire Weather Watch is in effect for areas west of I-135 Tuesday Afternoon where an extreme fire danger is likely. Outdoor burning is greatly discouraged. A very high grassland fire danger is likely for the remainder of the region.
Here is the Forecast for the workweek.
This Afternoon…Sunny, with a high near 73. East northeast wind around 11 mph.
Tonight…Mostly clear, with a low around 50. East southeast wind 8 to 11 mph.
Tuesday…A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 13 to 18 mph increasing to 23 to 28 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 37 mph.
Tuesday Night…A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, then gradual clearing toward daybreak, with a low around 49. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 11 to 20 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
Wednesday… Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 17 to 22 mph increasing to 24 to 29 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph.
Wednesday Night…Mostly clear, with a low around 42. Breezy.
Thursday…Sunny, with a high near 72. Breezy.
Thursday Night…Mostly clear, with a low around 39.
Friday…Sunny, with a high near 70.
Friday Night…Mostly clear, with a low around 43.
Saturday…Sunny, with a high near 75. Breezy.
Saturday Night…Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. Breezy.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Board of Directors voted unanimously today for Hutchinson to be the home of the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship, beginning in November 2017 through November 2019. “We are thrilled to have been awarded this championship event for the next three years, which will provide an annual economic impact of $2.1 million to our community,” LeAnn Cox, Vice President of Operations and Tourism for the Greater Hutchinson Convention/Visitors Bureau (CVB), said.
“This is why 75 percent of the Hutchinson voters supported the Hutchinson Sports Arena project, to bring new events and new economic impact to Hutchinson” Rick Staab, Chairman of the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, said. The Volleyball Championship will utilize all of the renovated Sports Arena, including the three new auxiliary gyms, for the four-day championship.
The CVB submitted the proposal to host the Division I Championship in August 2015 and hosted the NJCAA 1st Vice President for Women, Marci Henry, for a site visit in November. “Many community partners helped roll out the red carpet for Marci during the site visit, and we want to thank each of them for their support,” Cox said. The announcement was made at the NJCAA Annual Meeting held March 29-April 2, 2016, in Colorado Springs, Colo. In addition to the Volleyball Championship, 14 other championship host sites were announced.
Less than two months ago, the NJCAA and the American Legion Lysle Rishel Post #68 signed a 25-year contract to keep the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship in Hutchinson. “We would like to thank the NJCAA for their confidence in Hutchinson by awarding the Division I Volleyball Championship, which combined with the Basketball championship, will bring an estimated annual economic impact of nearly $3.5 million” Cox said.
The Division I Volleyball Championship has been held in Casper, Wyo., since 2013 and will remain there for the 2016 championship. “In addition to the support of the community, we wish to acknowledge the valued partnership with Hutchinson Community College in helping to recruit this community event. It couldn’t happen without their support” Cox said.
Rick Staab went on to say, “The Chamber leadership will continue encouraging the CVB to bring in these types of events into our community. The business community of Hutchinson applauds the CVB in their hard work and we anticipate more success from their efforts.”
Golden Years Senior Care Center in Hutchinson faces fines under a bill passed by the Legislature that could threaten its survival. GOLDEN YEARS SENIOR CARE CENTER
By ANDY MARSO
Word that the Kansas Legislature has passed a bill allowing the state to fine adult care facilities that aren’t paying into a statewide medical liability protection fund brought Marie Jenks to tears.
For Jenks, the owner and operator of Golden Years Senior Care Center in Hutchinson, Thursday’s news was the last straw in what has been a series of difficult months.
The small facility she has owned for 30 years lost its coverage after a storm damaged the roof, and she’s been unable to secure a new plan that will satisfy the requirements of the Health Care Stabilization Fund.
“We have been trying to find anyone to insure us,” Jenks said. “I don’t know who everyone else is getting insurance with. … I don’t really understand what a person is supposed to do when no one will write a policy.”
The Health Care Stabilization Fund is intended to back up Kansas medical providers if a malpractice claim exceeds their primary insurance coverage.
Doctors, hospitals and other medical providers have been required to participate in the fund for decades by purchasing primary insurance plans from a list of carriers that pay into the fund.
Adult care facilities were added to the fund last year — a move the state’s largest nursing home lobbying groups supported. Most facilities had fund-compliant plans within months.
House Substitute for Senate Bill 55, if approved by Gov. Sam Brownback, would allow the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services to send correction orders to the few facilities not in compliance. If the facilities fail to respond to those orders, KDADS could impose $500 daily fines for up to five days.
Last year four facilities — Golden Years Senior Care Center, Country Club Estates in Paola, Westview Manor in Derby and Indian Creek Health Care Center in Overland Park — failed to comply with the insurance requirements.
Administrators from Country Club Estates and Westview Manor said Thursday that they have purchased compliant plans this year.
An administrator at Indian Creek Health Center requested information on where the facility could purchase fund-compliant plans.
Jenks requested the list as well but said she had more pressing problems due to the state’s failure to process Medicaid claims applications and renewals on time — an issue that has strained adult care facilities across the state.
Golden Years has nine beds, eight of which are occupied by residents who pay through Medicaid.
“I felt like they were just trying to close our doors,” Jenks said of the Medicaid delays. “I could fax you papers (that show) in one week alone $5,000 worth of checks that should have came. … We’re such a small home that when you hold $5,000 from us, that’s massive.”
Jenks said Golden Years operates on a “skeleton crew.” When she answered the phone Thursday, she was in the middle of cooking lunch for the residents.
“We are absolutely on our last month without the money,” Jenks said.
She said local hospitals and physicians know Golden Years as a place they can send people who have limited financial means. She charges residents a $650 per month base rate.
She broke down in sobs as she described the weight of trying to find other care options for her residents if she is unable to keep the doors open.
“Where are they going to go?” Jenks said. “Who’s going to take these people? Everywhere I call, they charge more than that. They don’t have more than that.”
Andy Marso is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach him on Twitter @andymarso
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — Crews continue extinguishing hot spots from a wildfire that has burned hundreds of square miles since starting last week in Oklahoma and spreading into rural Kansas.
The heaviest damage is in Kansas’ Barber County, where the fire remained 89 percent contained Thursday night when the most recent update was provided. Officials overseeing the firefight in the county said in a news release that there were at least seven calls for service Thursday and that 10 new acres burned.
Efforts are underway to calculate the damage. An estimated 600 cattle died in Oklahoma; Kansas officials are working to calculate how many cattle died in the state.
An informational meeting is planned for Wednesday in Medicine Lodge to help connect farmers and ranchers with federal assistance.
NEWTON, Kan. – Early Thursday morning, Newton Fire and EMS crews responded to a house fire in the 300 block of East 6th.
There were occupants at the residence who were able to escape without harm. The house was well involved with fire and crews performed an initial exterior attack to bring the fire under control. One firefighter suffered minor injuries and was transported to Newton Medical Center for evaluation.
Hesston and Halstead fire units also assisted at the scene along with providing resources and staffing at Newton stations.
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — Officials say a wildfire that burned hundreds of square miles of rural land in Oklahoma and Kansas this week destroyed at least 41 structures in both states.
Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says authorities in both states determined 16 residential structures and 25 minor structures were destroyed in the blaze.
Officials have yet to determine the cause of the fire, which started last week in Woods County in northwest Oklahoma and spread into Kansas. The fire was mostly contained Wednesday, with crews monitoring for hot spots.
Agricultural officials are estimating the damage. The Oklahoma Forestry Service says about 600 head of cattle died. The Kansas Department of Agriculture says no cattle death estimates are immediately available.
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MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — Crews are monitoring a wildfire that is largely contained after it burned hundreds of square miles of sparsely populated land in Kansas and Oklahoma.
The fire started last week in Oklahoma and spread to southern Kansas. The most damage occurred in Kansas’ Barber County, where several homes were destroyed. No serious injuries were reported.
Barber County Attorney Gaten Wood says crews would again watch the fire closely Wednesday because strong winds are in the forecast. The National Weather Service says gusts of up to 25 mph are expected Wednesday morning. The winds are expected to increase to up to 40 mph in the afternoon as dryer air moves into the area.
Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says crews also will continue to patrol and monitor the fire line there.
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — Crews will continue to patrol a wildfire that has burned hundreds of square miles of sparsely populated land in Kansas and Oklahoma.
The fire, which started last week in Oklahoma before spreading to southern Kansas, has largely been contained. But Barber County Attorney Gaten Wood says crew will be watching the fire closely because of high winds and dry conditions forecast for Tuesday.
Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says crews also will continue to patrol and monitor the fire line there and work on putting out any hot spots. She says the fire did not spread Monday despite the hot, windy conditions.
The fire destroyed several homes in rural Barber County, where most of the damage occurred. No injuries were reported.
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the wildfire that has burned at least 620 square miles of land in Kansas and Oklahoma since last week.
4:40 p.m.
Kansas officials have identified more Barber County homes destroyed in the wildfire that hit the region last week.
Ben Bauman, spokesman for the Kansas Adjutant General’s Office, said Monday it appears that nine homes in Barber County were destroyed in the wildfire. Earlier estimates showed anywhere from two to six homes destroyed in the county.
Bauman says three other homes were destroyed in wildfires elsewhere in Kansas last week.
He says assessments of the damage are just beginning, and the numbers will likely change.
He also says Kansas National Guard helicopters dropped an estimated 68,000 gallons of water on the fire over the weekend.
The fire, which started last week in Oklahoma, before spreading into southern Kansas, has reportedly been largely contained.
1:40 p.m.
At least one section of the wildfire that has been burning in southern Kansas since last week has been extinguished.
John Lehman, emergency manager for Comanche County, told The Wichita Eagle (https://bit.ly/1UXzXX4 ) Monday that the portion of the fire in Comanche County is out. The fire, which burned about 620 square miles in Oklahoma and Kansas, hit about 93 square miles of land in Comanche County.
Lehman says snowfall Sunday brought enough moisture to the burned area in Comanche County to declare the fire 100 percent controlled in that county by Sunday evening. He said firefighters no longer need to monitor for hot spots there.
The fire in neighboring Barber County was considered about 81 percent contained earlier Monday.
12:05 p.m.
Oklahoma Forestry Services officials are still investigating the cause of a wildfire that consumed an estimated 620 square miles of mostly rural land in Oklahoma and Kansas since last week. Fire personnel are focused on containing its spread.
Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson said Monday firefighters have contained about 90 percent of the fire in both states, although significant areas continue to burn. Officials flew a plane over the fire Monday morning seeking a reliable estimate of the burn area.
Weather conditions are expected to worsen Monday as humidity drops and temperatures rise. Officials expect wind speeds up to 22 mph and gusts up to 30 mph in the northwest part of Oklahoma.
The agency plans to release a new fire-containment estimate Monday evening.
Gov. Sam Brownback and Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, Kansas Adjutant General’s Department, meet with 1st Battalion, 108th Aviation Regiment Soldiers fighting the wildfire-photo Kan. National Guard
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the wildfire that has burned at least 620 square miles of land in Kansas and Oklahoma since last week.
10:30 a.m.
Some costs of battling the largest wildfire in Kansas history have so far been tallied at more than $1 million.
Barber County Attorney Gaten Wood told The Wichita Eagle that full damage estimates from the fire haven’t been totaled. But he says the cost of resources from outside fire departments and the use of Kansas National Guard Black Hawk helicopters to dump water on the fire had mounted to more than $1 million.
Wood says that estimate doesn’t include Barber County’s costs, some state costs or damage to homes, property and livestock.
The Kansas Forest Service says crews will patrol areas Monday hit by the wildfire that has burned at least 620 square miles in Oklahoma and Kansas since last week.
The service says the fire was 90 percent contained Sunday, and 81 percent contained in Barber County, Kansas, where most of the damage has occurred.
Kansas Army National Guard Soldiers cleared nearly three inches of snow from Black Hawk helicopters March 27 to prepare them for more reconnaissance and fire suppression missions throughout the day.-photo Kan. National Guard
The National Weather Service says winds up to 30 mph, with 40 mph gusts, are expected to hit the sparsely populated fire zone Monday and Tuesday. However an increase in humidity Tuesday coupled with 4 inches of snow that fell Sunday could help firefighters.
The Kansas Adjutant General’s Office says six homes were destroyed. No one has been seriously injured.
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — Firefighters making headway in trying to snuff the biggest wildfire in Kansas history may not get much help from the weather in coming days.
Forestry officials in Kansas and Oklahoma say the fires that have scorched 620 square miles in the two states are 45 percent contained. That includes the roughly one-third of the fire in hardest-hit Barber County in south-central Kansas.
But the National Weather Service says shifting, stiffer winds are looming, potentially reigniting hot spots or extending flames beyond the fire line.
Around Barber County, winds on Monday could gust to 15 to 25 mph, then increase to 30 to 45 mph the next day. Any chance of precipitation in that area could come Tuesday night, but that moisture is expected to be very isolated.
Picture courtesy of Newton Fire/EMS
