20 Kansas Counties Declared Disaster Areas after Wildfires

Article

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a final disaster declaration covering 20 counties following last week’s wildfires that burned more than 1,000 square miles of the state.

Brownback signed the declaration on March 13. He made an initial disaster declaration verbally on March 5, and the final document covers fires that started March 4.

One death and 11 injuries were attributed to the fires. The state said that more than 40 homes and an unknown number of outbuildings were destroyed.

The state also said three bridges in Clark County and one in Meade County were destroyed. An unknown number of livestock died.

The counties listed in the declaration are Barber, Cheyenne, Clark, Comanche, Ellis, Ellsworth, Ford, Harvey, Hodgeman, Lane, Lincoln, McPherson, Meade, Ness, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Rooks, Russell, and Seward.

Meanwhile the Kansas House unanimously passed a sales tax exemption for supplies and services to repair or construct fencing for agricultural land.

The bill passed by the House is in response to recent fires that burned hundreds of thousands of acres in Kansas. The fires destroyed miles of fencing on ranches and farms, mostly in Comanche and Clark counties.

The Wichita Eagle reports the legislation exempts from sales tax goods and services purchased to help repair or rebuild fencing.

The tax exemption bill now heads to the Senate.

The Legislature passed a similar tax exemption last year after fires in Comanche and Barber counties.

The Kansas Department of Revenue estimates the sales tax exemption would cost the state about $4.6 million.