HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities in south-central Kansas have identified a man who was killed in a wildfire over the weekend that also destroyed 35 homes.
The Reno County Sheriff’s Office tells station KAKE that the body of 45-year-old Chadwick Penner was found in a wooded area that had burned on Sunday.
The fire began Saturday in eastern Reno County. Besides the homes burned, it also destroyed 92 outbuildings and 110 vehicles as it spread across 12,000 acres.
Officials say investigators determined the cause of the blaze was a brush pile fire that was left unattended. The Hutchinson Fire Department said Wednesday morning that the fire was 85% contained, and firefighters expected it to be fully contained sometime between Thursday and Saturday.