The temperatures are still in the triple digits, the humidity is low and the wind is blowing….the ingredients for wild fires. The last two days, we have had wild fires spark up in many different towns across Oklahoma. At around 11:30 am yesterday morning, there was a reported grass fire at around NE 50th and Sooner Rd that was growing and threatening homes. Since I was at work, I just sat and watched the updates on my TV. One of my REACT team members lives in that area, so he went over to the command center to see if they needed our assistance. He was notified by Spencer Police and OHP to block a few intersections off. He started blocking off a few streets and addition REACT units arrived on the scene.
I was originally suppose to take my wife to the doctor at 5:45 pm that afternoon, but I knew I was needed at the fire. I contacted my daughter and she agreed to take my wife to the doctor…a routine visit. I left the office at 4 pm and arrived on the scene at 4:15 pm. Our REACT units were the only units that had streets blocked off…there was no police presence anywhere. When I arrived, I checked in with our incident commander and then took over as incident commander. I made sure I knew where all our units were and then took a tour of the area that was on fire. Since I still have no air-conditioning in my truck, I had to drive with my windows down.
Not only was the wind strong and humidity low, but the fires were raging out of control and devouring anything and everything in its path. While driving down Sooner Rd, I was able to stop and take a few pictures. While I was watching the fire burn, I noticed a small rabbit running across the road in front of me, trying to get away from the fire….he succeeded. Embers from the fires were being blown in every direction, so little fires were starting up everywhere and turning into big fires.
There were firefighters on the scene from OKC, Nichols Hills, Edmond and other municipalities. There was also a good number of volunteer firefighters from some of the smaller towns fighting the fire as well. They were finally able to put out most of the fires in the area where we had traffic blocked off and they already had traffic control set up for the areas north of us. Because of that, our team was released from the scene. Several of us headed to Braums to get something to eat….and then home.
Today, many people are picking up pieces from the fire and trying to salvage all they can. So far, there have been 21 homes burned to the ground and 43 vehicles burned up. There have been some injured, but nothing serious. Fortunately, many of the homes were saved because the firefighters focused on saving homes. Today, the conditions are still very favorable for wild fires, so we will see what happens.
www.centralokreact.org
No comments:
Post a Comment