Oklahoma Declares Disaster After Wildfires, High Winds

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(TNS) — Wildfires destroyed more than 50 homes in the Stillwater area Friday, according to an early assessment by the Stillwater Fire Department.

Fire Chief Terry Essary said he believes they will learn of more when they are able to get into areas that were obstructed from view Friday night.

As of noon Saturday, no fatalities have been associated with the fires. Essary said some firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation and released from medical care. Stillwater Medical reported treating 12 patients in the emergency room for “smoke inhalation or patients on home care who needed to evacuate.”

Essary said multiple fires broke out around 1:20 p.m. Friday and quickly spread out of control in winds that gusted to between 60 and 70 mph.

“The fires spread rapidly and we had difficulty containing each and every one,” he said. “… We attacked the fires and did the very best with what we had, but due to the high winds and low humidity, we were quickly overwhelmed due to the conditions.

“To be honest with you, seeing your community on fire is a very unsettling thing. It is something a fire chief never wants to experience.”

Stillwater Vice Mayor Amy Dzialowski said people can donate to the Stillwater Strong fund set up at unitedwaypaynecounty.org.

Those wanting to volunteer are asked to email stillwaterstrongrelief@gmail.org with the word “volunteer” in the subject line.

Disaster declaration

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt declared a disaster in Cleveland County and 11 other counties as Norman also picks up following Friday’s wildfire outbreak.

As of 8:30 a.m., city officials report all fires had been contained and damage assessment is being made. Officials revised the damage estimate downward from Friday evening, saying seven homes and 20 outbuildings have been lost to fires. Officials said there are no reports of civilian injuries at this time.

The governor declared a state of emergency in Cleveland, Creek, Dewey, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, Oklahoma, Pawnee, Payne, Pottawatomie, Roger Mills and Stephens counties after high winds spread the fires across the state.

“Due to impacts from dangerous wildfires and straight-line-winds beginning Friday … including damage to power lines and infrastructure, it is necessary to assist and expedite all efforts of relief,” the governor’s order states. The order removes restrictions from vehicles weight requirements, fees, and other regulations to expedite delivery of goods and services to impacted areas.

City officials said the Norman shelters will close Saturday, but that those needing recovery help can apply for assistance through the Red Cross.

OG&E electric company reports that power has been restored to 83% of customers who experienced an outage from Friday’s extreme high winds, but that about 10,200 customers remained without power early Saturday.

“Approximately 1,700 operational and support personnel are responding by repairing the grid and restoring power to homes and businesses that can accept power,” the company stated in a release.” While evaluations are ongoing, damage to the grid includes downed power lines, 200 broken power poles, damaged transmission structures, tree damage to equipment, broken cross arms and other equipment attached to poles.”

Nine-car accident

Although there were no fire fatalities, high winds and blowing dust are being blamed for a multi-vehicle accident east of Enid on Friday that resulted in one death and the hours-long closure of U.S. 412.

Enid Police Department received a 911 call at 12:13 p.m. of a multiple-vehicle accident. Responding officers found nine vehicles involved and said that one person had been ejected. That person was declared dead at the scene, authorities said. Two other people were injured.

Other Oklahoma highways also were closed temporarily Friday because of blowing dust and smoke.

The high winds blew down power lines in and around Enid, sparking a grass that spread to a fence and two houses, Enid Fire Marshal Mike Schatz said. A propane tank along the fence exploded after becoming too hot. One house was a total loss. The occupant was not home at the time of the fire. A second house that was vacant sustained minor fire damage.

Many other fires were reported around the state, some leading to evacuations.

Eastern Oklahoma blazes

Several rural volunteer fire departments joined forces to extinguish outdoor blazes Friday afternoon and evening in parts of Cherokee County in eastern Oklahoma.

Keys Volunteer Fire Chief Yogi Cole said there were five outside fires and close to 100 acres burned. No structures were damaged, and no injuries were reported.

Crews with the Keys, Cookson, and Welling fire departments, along with Oklahoma Forestry, battled a large blaze for several hours just east of the Caney Ridge area.

“That one was from the first fire and Forestry was down on that one. Their (bulldozer) got a (containment) line, but the wind was so bad — swirling and blowing from every direction, that it blew across the line and got it going again,” Cole said.

At one point, eight structures were threatened by the flames.

“We had a lot of resources,” Cole said. “We were lucky the Forestry had a (bulldozer) because that helped us tremendously. They’re the experts on this and we just assisted them, and all of us working together.”

Cole said one of the firefighters could see an ember floating through the air before landing on a pile of leaves.

“(The fire) just took off, like you poured gas on it,” he said. “If the wind is getting up more than 8 or 10 miles an hour, if the humidity is low or even below 50% — yesterday it got down to 12% — and at those levels, it can burn so quickly and so easily.”

Cole said Friday’s blazes were intentionally set, as there were no power lines or electricity near the fires’ points of origin.

CNHI papers in Stillwater, Norman, Tahlequah and Enid contributed to this report.