Smoke from Kansas grass fires reaches all the way to Ozarks, St. Louis and Memphis

Folks in Topeka, Kansas City and St. Louis caught a whiff of something this week that made some of them call 911.

It made some people’s eyes burn, smelled like “campfire” and blurred out the sun.

It was smoke coming from grass fires burning hundreds of miles away in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma.

In a span of less than 24 hours from Wednesday to Thursday, the smoke plume from the fires changed direction dramatically, from a shot directed into southern Nebraska to one aimed toward St. Louis to the east, reported The Weather Channel.

Some of the smoke could even be seen Thursday in skies over Memphis – some 500 miles from the fire.

On Thursday morning, meteorologist Mark Burchfield in Springfield, Mo. – about 300 miles to the east of the fires – reported a “pretty strong” smell of smoke there.

One woman in Springfield told a TV reporter on Facebook that she had to “use my rescue inhaler twice ... due to how strong the smell is. I normally use it for seasonal allergy attacks.”

Authorities in St. Louis – nearly 500 miles from the fires – reassured their residents on Thursday.

The blaze that started Tuesday in Oklahoma and spread into Kansas has burned at least 620 square miles so far. Kansas officials planned to fly over the area on Friday to evaluate the damage. About two-thirds of the area destroyed have been in Kansas.

High winds have hampered the fight and threaten to keep the fire spreading.

Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph, and a cold front that moved across Missouri this week carried the smoke as far away as St. Louis, meteorologists said.

“It's all about the winds," said Linda Gilbert, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Mo.. “The smoke was able to get carried off by the winds into the low pressure system.”

Fire officials in Topeka fielded dozens of calls on Wednesday from residents worried about the heavy smoke blanketing parts of the city, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

Don’t worry, a statement from Topeka fire marshal Mike Martin said. There are no grass fires nearby.

As devastating as the fires have been, the smoke inspired many photographers to grab their cameras and cellphones.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Smoke from Kansas grass fires reaches all the way to Ozarks, St. Louis and Memphis."