It hasn't been too long since the Wichita's were last ablaze. The most memorable being in 2011, when the smoke screened off parts of SWOK to the world.

Though it burned for 41 days, in what seemed like moments, nearly 28,000 acres of refuge land and homes were gone. Yet, it wasn't started by an errant camper with an illegal fire in the back-country, nor was it a careless smoker flicking their cigarette on the ground... It was traced back to a construction crew who was simply cutting rebar in dry, windy conditions like we're so used to.

While you wouldn't think people could forget such and event... the early darkening skies in the evening and the smoke-blind driving down US-62... but to forget and move on is human. Even on days like this, it's common to see that careless smoker flick their butt out the car window going down the road. Or the construction worker, so focused on their work, they don't realize the danger they're creating.

Weather.gov
Weather.gov
loading...

More From KLAW-FM