During US Senator Roger Marshall’s “Four Corners” tour of 50 Kansas counties last week, he witnessed firsthand the response to wildfires which started on Feb. 17, that burned thousands of acres, mostly in southwest Kansas.
Last Tuesday was the day the tour was scheduled to be in southwest Kansas, and his first indication of what was to come came during his first stop of the day at the Cimarron National Grassland in Morton County where a park ranger said this was going to be a “horrible day” for fires, with winds already gusting to around 70 miles an hour.
In an interview with Ad Astra News earlier this week, Senator Marshall said the fires that developed to the south and southeast of Liberal more or less chased him to Ashland in Clark County, one of the hardest hit areas.
When he arrived in Ashland, there were a few people at the fire station filling trucks and handling other support tasks. A mandatory evacuation of Ashland had been ordered, and everyone that could help was. “Pretty much every able-bodied person, that didn’t need to take women and children out of harm’s way was helping fight the fire,” he said.
In 2017, a large wildfire caused considerable loss of livestock and burned a much larger area than the Ranger Road fire. This time, loss of livestock was much less, and no loss of human life.
Marshall was a newly elected congressman at the time of the 2017 fire, and he noted a lot of lessons were learned in that fire that helped this time around. As the fires were burning last Tuesday, Senator Marshall was already in contact with various USDA officials on getting aid to help affected farmers and ranchers.
In the aftermath of the fire, many people and organizations have been reaching out to provide assistance, such as FFA chapters, churches, and other organizations along with businesses and individuals. Hay was especially important, as not only did ranchers lose fences to the fire but also feed.
Senator Marshall pointed out in the interview what is happening in southwest Kansas shows the importance of community. When he talks to people from big cities ask, “what do you mean community,” and he said people responding in times of need the way they do is what he means.
During the six-day tour, Marshall said he met many inspirational people. “Yes, they have challenges, but they’re just so happy to be living their communities,” he said, noting peaceful might be a better description of it. “No, they’re not getting rich, and they don’t have a mall to go to, but they’re sure excited about where they live.
You can hear the full recording of our interview with Senator Marshall on the podcast page at www.adastraradio.com.
