Oklahoma saw no letup Wednesday in the wildfire dangers as some evacuations were ordered early in the day as winds gusted to 65 miles an hour or greater fueling fires that remained out of control. Much of the state remained under a Red Flag warning.
Evacuation orders had been issued early Wednesday for Logan County residents because of a large wildfire burning east and southeast of the city of Guthrie. The orders were later lifted but the fire was still burning. At least 113 homes and more than 30,000 were burned this week in the fire.
The outlook remained grim as the Oklahoma Forestry Services office described it as “another concerning day with concerning fire danger.”
Its latest Fire Situation Report indicated the continued strong winds presented challenges to the control lines on existing fires. In some cases, only 50% of some of the larger wildfires were considered “under control.” The OFS said the persistent winds would pose potential for rapid to extreme rates of fire spread on Wednesday.
“Fire danger will remain firmly in place through the week and weekend for most of Oklahoma noting that rain chances to build in this weekend in eastern Oklahoma,” stated the report.
“Very strong west to northwest winds and low composite fuel moisture will continue to support very active burning conditions challenging existing fires on the landscape as well as potential for
extreme fire behavior on new fires that become established. The significant fire potential will be highest in southwestern Oklahoma where skies will clear and relative humidity values will fall back into critical level again.”
Ongoing Large / Significant Fire Activity within the OFS Protection Area:(>100 Acres Timber / >300 Acres Grass/Brush)
• Boggs Hollow (Latimer County) – 308.0 Acres / 80% Contained
• Waits Lane Fire (LeFlore County) – 158 Acres / 80% Contained
• Yellow Springs Fire (LeFlore County) – 150 Acres / 80% Contained
• Hog Mountain Fire (Latimer County) – 938 Acres / 70% Contained
• Eight Mile Fire (Latimer County) – 400 Acres / 71% Contained
• Rugged Mountain Fire (Pittsburg County) – 1,383 Acres / 50% Contained
• Railroad Track Fire (Pushmataha County) – 223 Acres / 30% Contained
• Wesley Fire (Atoka County) – 252 Acres / 65% Contained
• Dirty Pine Fire (Pushmataha County) – 157 Acres / 70% Contained
• Venison Hollow Fire (Adair County) – 402 Acres / 70% Contained
• Doublehead South Fire (Adair County) – 150 Acres / 50% Contained
• Doublehead Mountain Fire (Adair County) – 483 Acres / 50% Contained
• Black Fox Fire (Sequoyah County) – 106 Acres / 85% Contained
• Flying J Fire (Latimer County) – 1,154 Acres / 60% Contained
• Plan B Fire (Latimer County) – 800 Acres / 65% Contained
• Tully Hollow Fire (Adair County) – 205 Acres / 90% Contained
• Cherry Tree Fire (Adair County) – 109.0 Acres / 90% Contained
Fire Activity with OFS Response Outside of the Protection Area: 15 New Fires Burned 662.1 Acres
• Ranch Creek Road Fire (Pawnee County) – 513 Acres / 30% Contained
• 840 Road Fire (Roger Mills/Dewey County) – 27,855 Acres / 50% Contained
• Camargo Fire (Dewey County) – 6,075 Acres / 50% Contained
• Little Salt Creek Fire (Pawnee County) – 11,190 Acres / 30% Contained
• Hickory Hills Fire (Oklahoma County) – 6,643 Acres / 45% Contained
• 33 Road Fire (Logan/Payne Counties) – 33,075 Acres/50 Structures / 50% Contained
• Euchee Valley Fire (Payne County) – 8,512 Acres / 70% Contained