Sitka, Kansas burns...

[Daniel Kalal]

the prairie fires have been overwhelming in Kansas, today.  This is Sitka, Kansas (photo taken from today's Wichita Eagle):


back in 2005 I took these shots:


Here's the nicest house in town.  Does it still stand?  I do not know.  It's doubtful


Of course, all the old remains of the old farmhouses around Sitka will now be completely gone:

[troyhamilton]

in 1982 i rode up to yates center kansas to help a freind that had broke down. old cars sat everywhere, im talking about stuff from the 1940s. sad to think of it all the prarie burning.

[oldbike54]

 There are fires burning in Texas , Oklahoma , and Kansas . There have been a few fatalities , and lots of damage . Not good .

 Dusty

[Daniel Kalal]

in 1982 i rode up to yates center kansas to help a freind that had broke down. old cars sat everywhere, im talking about stuff from the 1940s. sad to think of it all the prarie burning.

the thing with prairie fires is that in a few months, the prairie will be back (better than it was), but the things that people put out there (like barns and houses) will be gone.

[Daniel Kalal]

There are fires burning in Texas , Oklahoma , and Kansas . There have been a few fatalities , and lots of damage . Not good .

 Dusty

Yeah; when you read of people dying of a heart attack while trying to protect their home (as happened today), you have to only wonder:  get away; it's only a building.

[rodekyll]

Yikes!  Nothing to do but wait for rain?

Couldn't happen in the "other" Sitka.

[Matteo]

I would be interested in learning how they got that name.

[Daniel Kalal]

I would be interested in learning how they got that name.

Evidently, it was named for Sitka, Alaska.  The temperature was down to 17 below zero when the new settlers were discussing what they should call the place.  I guess they figured that since it was as cold as Sitka, they might as well call it Sitka.  This was in 1885 when pretty much every town in Kansas west of the 100th meridian was founded.

Like many farm towns in Kansas, Sitka peaked just after the first world war (high crop prices and good weather couldn't last), and the decline never stopped.  Now, it's gone completely.

[Arizona Wayne]

Anyone know how the fire this time started?

Back in the `70s a 2 story old house across the street from my first owned house caught on fire and it wouldn't burn down.  It's sides was covered with asbestos shingle siding.  Found out later the owner of the house caused the fire.    Apparently they wanted the fire insurance $, which they didn't get. Instead they had to clean up the mess they made.

[Matteo]

Thanks Daniel! Kinda funny considering Sitka is one of the warmest places in Alaska.

[rodekyll]

They've never had a sub-zero or over 90 temp (f).  Avg is about 41.

[Arizona Wayne]

When I worked @ Sears Roebuck store in Portland, Oregon in the early `70's, we had a display manager who transferred to the Anchorage, Alaska store.  Later he came back to our Portland store and said the weather in Anchorage wasn't much different than in Portland. 

[rodekyll]

What he meant was that the thermostats were set the same in both offices.   

[tris]

I woke up the morning and thought "I hope its not still raining" as it has been pretty much all winter with just the odd day off and taking the dog for a walk at the moment consists of a traipse through the mud.

Then I saw this thread

We forget sometimes just how lucky we are and the tough times other people around the world are going through

[Rough Edge racing]

We forget sometimes just how lucky we are and the tough times other people around the world are going through

  What's also forgotten is how hostile the weather/nature can be in the USA....When the 1800's immigrants settled the mid west they were told about an endless prairie paradise....The reality was wind, sudden blizzards, tornadoes, drought and plagues of insects...and like the areas of forest, the prairie was subject to fires...
  Hope everyone gets out of the way !!!!