Smoke from around a hundred separate controlled burns in Lyon County led to a crash on the Turnpike.
The Kansas Highway Patrol stated traffic on Interstate 35 slowed to a crawl near Emporia just before 5 p.m. Tuesday because of blowing smoke from range burning. A crash log states a pickup rear-ended an SUV that was moving around 10 m.p.h.
The 70-year-old man driving the SUV and the 69-year-old woman in the passenger seat, both from Culver, were taken to a hospital for minor injuries. The driver of the pickup was not hurt.
An air quality advisory was in effect Tuesday in Wichita because of an easterly wind blowing smoke from the Flint Hills into Wichita. The City of Wichita stated ozone levels were still in compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standard.
“We did observe a spike in PM 2.5 pollution over the 1 o’clock hour but it appears levels have since fallen,” the city tweeted. “We are still advising residents in sensitive groups to limit prolonged exposure outdoors.”
