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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Starbuck Fire – Gardiner Ranch, Part 3

March 6, 2017. Members of the Gardiner family were working cattle on their ranch in southwest Kansas when they started to smell smoke. Little did they know that almost their entire ranch was about to be consumed by the largest wildfire in the history of Kansas.

The March, 2017 Starbuck Fire in Clark County, Kansas.

In the last two weeks, we’ve learned about Mark, Greg and Garth Gardiner who operate Gardiner Angus Ranch. They were at the epicenter of this disastrous fire in 2017.

In February 2017, an ice storm loosened overhead power lines in Oklahoma. When high winds arose in March, the lines banged together, arced and started to melt, causing sparks which set fire to the dry grass below.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Starbuck Fire – Gardiner Ranch, Part 3”