quiltingshorttimer

My sis lives in south central KS and they have been battling wild fires that started in OK over the weekend and have been whipped out of control by the 40mph winds we've been dealing with in KS since Monday.
So far it has consumed at least 400,000 acres (and some estimates say 700,000), and the farms, livestock and anything in that 400,000acres. The town of Medicine Lodge,KS is threatened and has a voluntary evac.

Part of it is in the Gypsum Hills, which are pretty rugged and make it harder to combat. Most of the firefighting is being done by volunteer fire departments with the aid of oil field workers and high school students along with the ranching communities. It is NOT under control yet.

In my county further north, we give a "fire" quilt to any family that has a fire and I'd love to see the quilt guilds in KS all come together to do the same for these "neighbors". Does anyone have an idea on how to contact all the guilds in KS?

DOTTYMO

Hope your family and the rest in the area stay safe.

DebbieJJ

Oh my goodness, my dad and step-mom are in Hutchinson, KS, and I have a cousin and her family in Burlington. Praying all of the people in the path of the fires stay safe.

Geri B

First I'm hearing......pray no lives are lost.....

shihtzulover

No one has lost their lives yet, just a lot of farm ground, cattle and farm animals. My daughter lives at Pratt, just north of the fire, and she has posted numerous pictures of Pratt and surrounding, and it is very devastating for many of the farmers/ranchers. There were/are a couple of small towns in it's path. We just continue to hope and pray that they get it under control soon. They have fire depts. from all over Kansas and surrounding states come and help. It is now going into day 3 and many firefighters have gone 24-48 hrs with no sleep. We are about 2 1/2 hours north and we can smell the smoke outside.

Mariposa

Oh my! Prayers for all involved!!

wendiq

If I were trying to contact someone, I would do it on my search engine.....Like maybe quilt guild in (name of town)

ManiacQuilter2

My grandparents were from central Kansas just north of Abilene. I would go to Google and search for any LQS because they would probably know.

fayeberry

I suggest contacting Peggy, the owner of Hen Feathers in Wichita. She is a long time shop owner and may know.

quiltingshorttimer

thanks all for the suggestions. The fire is still going unfortunately. My sis says they are using her county's fairground buildings (next county east) to provide a staging area for the workers, a sleep place for those that are dead on their feet, food and supply place.
Sure not many outside KS and OK and MO (they are getting the smoke in SW MO) are even aware of this as it's mostly farm/ranch country so few houses and towns threatened. My sis said that one couple lost their house and all out buildings and their livestock. Hay is needed for the cattle and horses that were able to be moved out of the way (some was lost) as the fields, which will green up quickly once any rain is received--but it is a very dry area--but in meantime nothing to feed animals. Unfortunately, we had just sold the rest of our last year's hay the week before