Experts are warning of another active wildfire season in Kansas.

Several Red Flag Warnings have already been issued.

According to Fire Program Section Leader with the Kansas Forest Service, Ross Hauck, the current fuel load in Kansas is well above normal.

“We have a fuel load out there that’s probably at least a third larger than a normal year would be – if there’s such a thing as a normal year anymore,” Hauck said. “And so as these fires happen, the fuel that’s out there is still standing because we haven’t had any snow to press it down.”

“That doesn’t take the fuel away but it does make it a little more manageable,” he said

Even when an area receives precipitation, the potential for a wildfire is still high.

“We’re in a grass area, primarily, and it can rain at eight o’clock in the morning and by 10 when the sun comes out all the fuel is ready to go,” Hauck said. “We call it one hour fuels. So from the time you couldn’t burn it to the time it’ll burn readily is about an hour.”

Kansas had a lot of wildfires last year, which Hauck said can be blamed on human activity.

“We had over 6,000 wildfires last year, and about 80% of those were human caused,” Hauck said. “Mother Nature still has lightning, but that doesn’t cause a big issue in Kansas.”

“It’s us people that do it,” he said.