‘A little chaotic’: Woman evacuates 11 horses as Kansas City grass fire spreads off I-470
When the thick smoke started rolling in, Deanna Aikin, who owns 11 horses in south Kansas City, put out a call for help. She needed to evacuate her animals, and quickly.
Soon, several barns responded, offering to take Aikin’s horses in while firefighters battled a growing grass fire on both sides of Interstate 470 Highway, near Aikin’s barn on Bannister Road.
Police urged some Kansas City residents to evacuate Sunday as the blaze spread quickly, egged on by dry conditions and high winds.
Authorities shut down eastbound I-470 between Interstate 49 and Interstate 435 in Kansas City to the Grandview Triangle, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The highway was shut down westbound at 350 Highway and U.S. 50 Highway in Lee’s Summit.
After putting out a call for help at 1 p.m., Aikin found shelter at LaRock Ranch, a few blocks away in the 9600 block of Raytown Road.
“The horse community really came through,” she said, adding that her horses were noticeably bothered by the smoke when they evacuated the barn. “It was a little chaotic to start with until the nerves calmed down,” Aikin said.
Damon Pettus, who lives in the 9600 block of Raytown Road, told The Star mid-afternoon Sunday that he hadn’t recieved warning from police to evacuate, but he was still keeping an eye on the fire nonetheless.
At one point, he said, the smoke was bad enough it caused his asthma to flare up. His family told him he smelled like smoke when he walked inside.
Pettus said he worries the fire could spread further with high winds and after cold temperatures earlier in the week caused plants and grass to die and dry out. But until he sees flames, he said he’ll stay at home.
Another resident who didn’t want to be named told The Star that even though it was recommended she evacuate, she decided to stay home in case she needed to direct firefighters to put water on her house.
Most of her neighbors did the same, she said.
Come 3 p.m., instead of sitting at a Chiefs watch party, as planned, she and her husband stood at their windows, watching for flames.
“If we see these fire trucks back up, we’ll leave,” she said. “We’re not stupid, we’re all packed up.”
Kansas City Fire Chief Donna Lake said as of about 2 p.m. Sunday, only a couple homes to the south had been urged to evacuate.
The fire chief advised anyone who lives in the general area between Raytown and Lee’s Summit and who is at home to turn off their HVAC systems to reduce the smoke coming into their homes. She also advised them to shelter in place until they learn more from authorities about whether or not they will need to evacuate.
KCFD worked alongside fire crews from six other area agencies to control the fire, Lake said.
As of around 4:15 p.m., a spokesman from KCFD told The Star that the fire on the north side of I-470 was about 80% contained. The highway remained closed as of that time.
All lanes were reopened by about 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 4:24 PM.
