SW Kansas Wildfires Char 120K Acres

REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- Wildfires started by dry lightning and fueled by drought conditions in Meade and Clark Counties in southwest Kansas have burned over 120,000 acres.

Ryan Koons manages Shaw Feedyard southwest of Ashland, Kansas, an area that is currently dealing with wildfires and has dealt with them several times before. The Ranger Road Fire burned over 280,000 acres in the same area and into Oklahoma in February 2026. In March 2017, the Starbuck Fire burned more than 450,000 acres in Kansas after it burned 200,000 acres in Oklahoma.

IN THE FIRES' PATH

"The fires this year have come within 2 miles of the feedyard," Koon said. The Shaw Feedyard is an 8,500-head, family-owned, custom cattle feeding operation that began in 1963. While the feedyard itself hasn't burned, nearly all the grass around it has. The current fire and February's fire were both as close as 2 miles away and charred some of their leased pasture nearby.

In 2017, the fire was within a mile of the feedyard and surrounded them on all sides.

All these fires have been fueled by extreme drought conditions causing the grass to dry out and burn quickly. Koons said the winds have been as strong as 45 miles per hour, which can make fighting a fire very difficult. Monday night, May 18, the fire burning southwest of Ashland went into some trees and stopped moving. "It was a godsend for sure," he said. "We still have trees smoldering and have to keep monitoring them, but we may have it contained."

DROUGHT FUELS THE CRISIS

The main cause of the fire is extreme drought. The U.S. Drought Monitor map shows those and other counties in southwest Kansas in D3, extreme drought. "Our last measurable rainfall was in November 2025," said Koons. "Typically, we get 17 to 21 inches of rain per year and right now we are at next to zero."

Randall Spare, a veterinarian in Ashland, said the cattle losses have been minimal because most ranchers learned the hard way in 2017 when the Starbuck fire went through. "Now, most everyone is quick to move their cattle if a fire is headed their way," he said. "We just assume it will be bad and we want to get our cattle out of harm's way."

Spare said he looked at some cattle last weekend that mostly had damage to their hooves. Some had died or had to be euthanized. He said the producer also had cows with udder damage and was able to sell them to market.

"Generally, as a whole, cattle that have gone through a wildfire won't have lung problems because they don't stand in the smoke very long," Spare said. "We mostly see foot and udder problems and can have some issues with their skin if they were burnt."

LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY

Spare and Koons both said the lack of grass in the areas that were burnt will be the biggest challenge, especially for the cow-calf producers. Much of the range hasn't recovered properly from the 2017 fire because of the continual drought conditions.

Hay and feed donations came to the Shaw Feedyard for distribution after the February fire. Koons fears hay donations may be slower to arrive this time around due to not much extra hay being left after so much has been distributed and purchased by producers especially in Kansas and Nebraska.

The Meade County Community Foundation is partnering with the Ashland Community Foundation to aid farmers and ranchers who have experienced devastating losses due to the recent fires in Meade and Clark Counties. Organizers of the foundation funds said all the money will go directly back to those affected in the area.

Information for the application process or to donate to the cause is available on the Meade County Community Foundation Facebook page or at www.meadecountycommunityfoundation.org. Hay, feed and fencing donations can be directed to the Meade County Extension at 620-873-8790.

Koons said the wildfires have taken a real toll on the area. "We are very appreciative of all the help from all across the country. We even received a load of hay from Maine," he said. "Firefighters from around the area and as far away as Denver have helped us fight this. We are eternally grateful for their help."

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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