Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

DISASTERS

Black Hawk helicopters deployed for Kansas wildfire

Associated Press
Published | Updated
  • 6ca10145-
    Image 1 of 3

    Fire damage to a home Thursday, March 24, 2016 near Medicine Lodge, Kan. A fire that started Tuesday in Oklahoma has now burnt near 400, 000 acres in Kansas and Oklahoma. (Andrew Whitaker/ The Hutchinson News via AP) (The Associated Press)

  • 5983cdde-
    Image 2 of 3

    Charred prairies are seen Thursday, March 24, 2016 near Medicine Lodge, Kan. as smoke rises in the distance from the continuing burning fire. The fire that started Tuesday in Oklahoma has now burnt near 400, 000 acres in Kansas and Oklahoma. (Andrew Whitaker/The Hutchinson News via AP) (The Associated Press)

  • 8ab28449-
    Image 3 of 3

    New utility poles are installed in rural rural Barber County near Medicine Lodge, Kan., on Thursday, March, 25, 2016. A fire that started Tuesday in Oklahoma has now burnt near 400, 000 acres in Kansas and Oklahoma. (Amy Bickel/The Hutchinson News via AP) (The Associated Press)

MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. – Firefighters trying to snuff out the biggest wildfire in Kansas history are getting help from military helicopters — and a potential assist from rain or snow.

Two Black Hawk helicopters from the Kansas National Guard have been dispatched in the efforts to contain the persistent prairie blazes in south-central Kansas.

Each helicopter has a 660-gallon bucket that will be used to dump water from local sources onto the flames.

The fire, which began Tuesday and spread north from Oklahoma into Kansas, is blamed for charring at least 620 square miles and destroying at least two homes. No serious injuries have been reported.

The National Weather Service says the area where the fire is located may get one-tenth to a quarter inch of precipitation Saturday night or Sunday morning.