Riley County officials shared information Monday on a pair of wildfires that burned over 3,500 acres last week.
The first happened Thursday in the area of Halls Ravine Road, north of Randolph where a prescribed burn became out of control, burning private land and igniting flood debris on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property. Close to two dozen volunteers with Riley County Fire District No. 1 responded, with mutual aid provided by Waterville and Manhattan Fire Departments. A total of 1,500 acres burned.
Riley County firefighters also responded Friday to Tabor Valley Road in the southeastern part of the county for an out of control prescribed burn, which scorched an estimated 2,000 acres. A horse and donkey were evacuated safely from that property.
County officials say crews responded to four additional fires over the weekend, none larger than the two last week. Crews also battled an out-of-control fire Monday near Leonardville.
Dangerous fire weather continues for our area for the next several days.