Wildfire, Shawnee
- When
- February 24, 10:45 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Shawnee County, 2 mi SW of Auburn
- Measured
- 35
- Injuries
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 39.042, -95.756 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Kansas, February 24, 1996
A fast moving grass/pasture fire consumed 25 square miles of grass and timber in southwest Shawnee county. The fire was fanned by extremely dry conditions and southwest winds at times gusting to around 40 mph.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 3
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS TOP wrote it up.
A fast moving grass/pasture fire consumed 25 square miles of grass and timber in southwest Shawnee county. The fire was fanned by extremely dry conditions and southwest winds at times gusting to around 40 mph. Three firefighters were injured while 2 homes and several outbuildings were destroyed. Some residents of the city of Auburn had to be evacuated as a precaution. The blaze destroyed an estimated 25,000 acres and may have been started in extreme northwest Osage county.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in New York, February 24 to 25, 1996
- High Wind in New York, February 24 to 25, 1996
- High Wind in Maryland, February 24, 1996
- High Wind in Vermont, February 24 to 25, 1996
- High Wind in Massachusetts, February 24 to 25, 1996
- High Wind in Connecticut, February 24 to 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Wyoming, February 24 to 25, 1996
- Winter Storm in Montana, February 24 to 25, 1996
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, February 24, 1996
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, February 24, 1996
- High Wind in New Jersey, February 24, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New York, February 24 to 25, 1996
More
Every storm in Kansas in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, February 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5540551.