Photo credit: Hiawatha Fire Department/Facebook

 

Update:  The Kansas Forest Service announced Wednesday afternoon that the wildfires were contained, and members of the Brown County Wildland Fire Task Force returned home Wednesday evening.  

(KNZA)---Brown County firefighters are assisting in battling wildfires in southwest Kansas.

Brown County Emergency Management organized a Wildland Fire Task Force to assist with the growing wildfire situation in southwest Kansas. 

The team is currently being deployed to support firefighting efforts near Ashland, Kansas. The task force includes personnel from the Everest, Fairview, Robinson, and Hiawatha Fire Departments. 

In total, 10 firefighters and five fire apparatus departed early Tuesday morning to assist crews already battling the fire. 

On Monday, 17 separate fires were identified in Meade and Clark Counties. So far, the fires have burned 85,000 acres, three homes and miles of power lines.

According to the Kansas State Fire Marshal's Office,  lightning strikes from recent storms could have ignited the burns, and ongoing winds threaten further spread.