Kansas wildfire management: Evaluating the adequacy of Kansas’ wildfire suppression system

This report contains the findings, conclusions and recommendations from an audit conducted by the Kansas Legislature in order to answer the question, "Is Kansas' wildfire suppression system adequately designed and resourced to effectively suppress wildfires?"

This report identified best practices available through several sources, including the U.S. Forest Service, National Wildfire Coordinating Group, and Federal Emergency Management Agency. It also reviewed information on how Great Plains states comparable to Kansas are structured, including North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas. These states were chosen because they have landscapes and precipitation levels similar to Kansas and experience similar types of wildfires. The audit team interviewed officials from these states and reviewed documentation they provided.

To determine how Kansas’ wildfire suppression system compared to national and regional benchmarks, the audit reviewed state law and the Kansas Response Plan. The team also interviewed officials and reviewed documentation and data from the Kansas Legislative Research Department, Office of Revisor of Statutes, Division of Emergency Management within the Adjutant General’s Department, Office of the State Fire Marshal, Kansas Forest Service, Division of the Budget, and Kansas State University. Further, the team interviewed officials from five local fire districts and two county emergency management departments who had been involved in suppressing the 2016 Anderson Creek and 2017 Starbuck wildfires. As part of this work, the audit assessed the controls the Office of the State Fire Marshal and Kansas Forest Service have in place to ensure the wildfire data they maintain are accurate, complete, and useful for managing Kansas’ wildfire suppression system.