KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Residents in parts of the Kansas City area, including in Johnson County, Kansas, might notice a small contribution to air quality this weekend from ongoing seasonal burning in the Flint Hills of Kansas.
The Kansas Flint Hills Smoke Management website map for April 8 and April 9 shows Johnson County may experience a small contribution to air quality form the burning.
The impact is anticipated to be greater in other parts of the state, especially in Wichita and other parts of south-central Kansas on Sunday.
That has led to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to issue an air quality advisory.
A release from KDHE says the advisory, which went into effect Friday, will be lifted when human health impacts “are reduced.”
The seasonal burns every March and April help the Flint Hills region maintain its tallgrass prairie ecosystem, among other benefits.
“Because air quality levels can change quickly, we are asking people to remain vigilant,” meteorologist Doug Watson said in the KDHE release. “Prescribed burns release large amounts of particulate matter and other pollutants that can form ozone. Particulate matter and ozone can cause health problems, even in healthy individuals.”
More information about the burns, including a model of the areas impacted, is available online.
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