A spring tradition in Geary County began in earnest on Monday when the work began to burn 10,000 acres on the Moyer Ranch in the southeast part of the county.

Geary County Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges said that blaze will cover about half of the Moyer Ranch. “We’ve got other fires that will burn anywhere from 100 to 400 acres.”

Berges noted these burns happen about this time every year. “This is the time of the year that a lot of the farmers are out doing their burning, their agricultural burning. People just need to be aware that there’s going to be smoke in the area, smoke going across some roadways. They’re going to try to limit that. But People just need to be careful if they’re in the areas.”

Berges estimated approximately 12,000 acres in the county would be burned on Monday and a lot would also occur the next couple of days. He expects burning to continue until about April 15th and then taper off.

In Geary County we may see and smell the smoke. “We will, especially once the temperature goes down, we get a little bit humidity it will keep some of that smoke down low so people might wake up in the morning to it. As long as get a little bit of wind you should not have that much of a problem.”

The Rural Fire Chief added if you’re driving and see thick smoke crossing the highway, pull over and wait a few minutes for it to pass. Usually that lasts for three or four minutes and then vehicles can proceed.

The County Emergency Department issued this reminder via social media:  If you encounter smoke going across the highway, stop along side the roadway, put your emergency flashers on and wait for the smoke to dissipate before driving on. If you must drive thru the smoke, please DRIVE SLOWLY and with caution.
Emergency Management along with the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center monitor the burns that have been called in and track their locations. Those conducting the burns must stay with their burns while they are active.