photo by: Courtesy of Douglas County

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

Longtime volunteer firefighter David Wulfkuhle was serving as incident commander when one of the largest grass fires in the county’s history erupted — threatening a house and its pets — and he says one person made a big difference.

“The fire was actually going over the top of the roof of the house,” Wulfkuhle said of the March 14 blaze. “We made the decision, if we didn’t feel that it we were going to save the house … we had to kick the door and get the pets out,” Wulfkuhle said. 

The team did end up evacuating the home’s cats and dogs and driving them to safety, but first responders also were able to save the house and prevent it from threatening other houses in the area.  

While responding to the fire, Wulfkuhle said Jeff Skinner, road superintendent for Kanwaka Township, provided crucial assistance. 

He said Skinner brought a water tender – which transports water from a water source to a fire scene – and later brought a rubber tire loader to knock down burning trees along East 400 Road for safety. 

After that, Wulfkuhle told him he could go home, and Skinner made the drive before being called back to the fire grounds. Skinner’s second trip back to the site of the fire involved him using a road grader to lay a “black line” for the back burn, which contributed to the containment efforts. 

“He literally just got home, and I called him back,” Wulfkuhle said. “I don’t know if he’d even got his shoes off.” 

The fire scorched roughly 200 acres east of Stull, near North 1600 and East 400 roads. It was later determined that the fire was caused by an ember from an old, unattended campfire, as the Journal-World reported. In response, Douglas County Emergency Management activated its emergency operations center to coordinate resources and communication efforts. Multiple fire departments from Douglas County and neighboring areas responded to the blaze.

Interim Fire Chief John Mathis said in a press release from Douglas County that several veteran firefighters described the large grass fire as one of the worst they had ever experienced. Wulfkuhle told the Journal-World that he has been involved with the fire department for over 40 years, and it’s the worst fire he’s ever had to help extinguish.

photo by: Douglas County

From left to right, Jeanne Waisner, Interim Fire Chief John Mathis, Jeff Skinner, David Wulfkuhle, and Martin Johnston.

And that fire wasn’t the only incident Consolidated Fire District No. 1 responded to that day. According to a memo to county commissioners, CFD1 responded to 20 other grass fires, three medical calls, two power line issues and three mutual aid calls from outside the county. Wulfkuhle said he and his son, Jason, were actually responding to another fire before they got the call for the large grass fire.

“Which is way over normal, usually just two or three at the most,” Wulfkuhle said. “We were literally just going from one fire to the other and (there were) super high winds. I think they said we had 60 to 75 miles per hour gusts.”

“When we got on scene there, my son and I, we were the only ones on the scene there in a truck and we tried to put it out,” Wulfkuhle said. “We tried to slow it down. More helpers were coming, and we knew that … (but) I honestly didn’t think we were going to slow it down when it got to the houses.”

Wulfkuhle said that Skinner was at the scene for almost the whole time and his assistance was exceptional.

photo by: Douglas County

Jeff Skinner

On Tuesday evening at the Kanwaka Township board meeting, Skinner was honored for his quick and decisive actions in helping to extinguish the large grass fire that occurred one night in March. CFD1 presented him with a plaque in recognition of his response.

“Mr. Skinner made significant contributions during that very dangerous fire,” Mathis said in the press release. “His assistance in heavy equipment helped directly in final containment, and his many hours throughout the day contributed to the protection of homes and lives.”

In contrast, Skinner was humble about his involvement. He didn’t want to have an interview with the Journal-World because of all the recognition he’s already received in the last week by staff.

Wulfkuhle said that Skinner didn’t have to do what he did.

“He was getting ready to go home from work that day, and he did not have to stay there and do all that for us,” Wulfkuhle said. “He was just helping out the community, and that’s what we need in this world.”

The fire agencies involved that night included CFD1, Willow Springs Township Fire, Kanwaka Township, Eudora Fire & EMS, Baldwin Fire, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical and Palmyra Fire District No. 2. As part of a mutual aid request Northwest Consolidated Fire District in Johnson County, 190th Air Refueling Wing and MTAA from Shawnee County, Olathe Fire Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Ranger Service all responded.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas County Public Works, Douglas County Emergency Communications Center and Douglas County GIS also provided assistance.