Feb 19, 2026

State Fire Marshal: Good progress on containing wildfires in Kansas

Posted Feb 19, 2026 4:30 PM
Photo State Fire Marshal
Photo State Fire Marshal

The weather allowed both ground and aerial firefighting efforts to make good progress containing the fires in southwest Kansas and the Oklahoma panhandle on Wednesday, according to Mark Engholm, State Fire Marshal of Kansas.

On Thursday, the state has also pre-positioned a task force in southeast Kansas due to forecast Red Flag conditions.

-283,000 acres up in flames in 24 hours-image State Fire Marshal of Kansas
-283,000 acres up in flames in 24 hours-image State Fire Marshal of Kansas