By Eric Smith
...Kris Sanders, (click here) meteorologist with the National Service in Topeka, said this winter was unusually windy, and it carried over into the spring.
According to weather service data for the month of March, Topeka hit 40-plus mph peak wind gusts seven times, including four in the last six days of the month. March 30 and 31, when several fire calls were reported by county dispatchers — including one for a large wildfire northwest of Topeka that damaged several structures — the average wind speed was 15.7 and 20.1 mph, respectively.
Additionally, for March 30 the maximum sustained wind speed was 31 mph, and the peak wind gust was 41 mph. For March 31, the maximum sustained wind speed was 31 and the peak gust was 44 mph. Other areas in northeast Kansas had similar windy numbers for March.
With all that in mind, the state statute for legal burning says the wind speed has to be 15 mph or lower....The wind is causing problems in what normally would be controlled fires or minor fires.
