photo by: Courtesy of Douglas County

Crews work near the scene of a grass fire in rural Douglas County in March 2025.

Northeast Kansas firefighters battled multiple grass fires this weekend in near hurricane-force gusts and dry conditions, including a 200-acre grass fire east of Stull that prompted an evacuation order.

According to a news release from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the fire near Stull, in the area of North 1600 and East 400 roads, was declared under control on Saturday morning. An evacuation notice was issued for the area shortly before 5:15 a.m., and it lasted for two hours. No structures were lost, and no injuries were reported, the release said.

“These conditions and the large fires created challenges for firefighters and first responders, but the teamwork and coordination helped us protect lives and property amid the threat of these fires,” John Mathis, interim chief for Douglas County Consolidated Fire District No. 1, said in the release.

The release said most of the land affected by this fire was managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Those agencies will be monitoring the area, and the Kansas State Fire Marshal has started a preliminary investigation. Smoke and smoldering trees can be expected in the area for several days, the release said.

As the Journal-World has reported, the National Weather Service in Topeka issued a red flag warning Friday for “extreme fire weather conditions” with winds gusting up to 40 to 60 miles per hour. Gov. Laura Kelly issued a state of disaster emergency proclamation and urged “everyone across the state to use extreme caution and avoid burning.” The emergency proclamation will last through the weekend.

In Johnson County, just east of the Douglas County line, crews were battling a fire on Friday evening that impacted traffic on Kansas Highway 10. A single-vehicle accident near Kill Creek Road just east of De Soto sparked a grass fire that spread into the median of K-10 and delayed traffic on the busy highway.

Kansas City media outlets reported no injuries from the accident or the fire, but said traffic was backed up on K-10 for more than an hour.