2 Years of Kansas Wildfires Could Total $100M

Back-to-back years of record wildfires in Kansas could end up costing as much as $100 million.

Kansas Department of Agriculture and Forest Service reports show that damages so far exceed $80 million.

That includes roughly $50 million to cover about 3,700 miles of burned fences and as many as 8,000 dead cattle from wildfires this year along the Kansas-Oklahoma border.

But those numbers don’t include the loss of homes and other structures, such as barns and garages, or power lines.

The Wichita Eagle reports the department’s data also doesn’t include the $3 million spent on firefighting or the thousands of hours of lost wages from volunteer firefighters.

Some lawmakers are asking to audit Kansas’ firefighting system to highlight how the state can improve and provide necessary resources.