Thousands of logs that floated down the Smoky Hill River last summer – now await the torch that will soon ignite the pile of driftwood.

Work crews have cleaned out most of the channel, transported the timber and stacked it near the Salina Wastewater Plant just northeast of the city. Heavy rainfall last June, July and September led to a high volume of water and created a massive log jam near Bill Burke Park, prompting a months long effort to remove it.

Salina City Manager Jacob Wood tells KSAL News that Diehl Enterprises got the job done.

Disaster relief funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is expected to defray over $600,000 of the estimated $1.2 million dollar price tag. City officials have not yet released a date to burn the log pile.

Smoky Hill River near Bill Burke on July, 8th 2025

Crews work on the project September, 8th 2025

Log pile just northeast of Salina on January, 19th 2026