Crews made progress Thursday against wind-whipped wildfires that spread from
Oklahomainto southern
Kansas, burning hundreds of square miles of largely grassland.
While at least one home in Kansas and several outbuildings were destroyed, no serious injuries were reported.
Smoke from the fire, which burned about 620 square miles in the two states, was reportedly detected as far away as St. Louis, hundreds of miles to the northeast.
Gov.
Sam Brownback said Thursday that the fire was largely contained in Kansas except in Barber County, which is southwest of Wichita along the border with Oklahoma. He encouraged people to heed requests to evacuate.
"We haven't sustained any fatalities yet, but that doesn't mean we can push it," he said.
In Oklahoma, the fire was moving toward the city of Alva, population about 5,000, but by early Thursday evening, the flames had not advanced enough to prompt evacuations there, according to Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Michelle Finch-Walker.
Wildfire Burns About 620 Square Miles in Kansas, Oklahoma
And in the meantime, 620 square miles burned in Kansas and Oklahoma. The largest wildfire in the history of Kansas.
