AP Kansas

2 dead in Kansas wildfires fueled by windy, dry weather

Published December 17, 2021 4:27 PM

By MARGARET STAFFORD
Associated Press

Authorities say two men have died in wildfires that erupted across Kansas earlier this week. Leoti officials say 84-year-old rancher and farmer Richard Shimanek died at a hospital after being burned while trying to fight a fire near his home on Wednesday. And the Ellis County sheriff’s office says the remains of 36-year-old Derrick Scott Kelley were found near his burned truck. His fiancee reported him missing on Wednesday. They are the first confirmed fatalities from fires that erupted Wednesday in western and central Kansas, fueled by dry conditions and powerful winds. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned.

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