Satellite Image of Recent TX/OK/NM Fires
Posted on 01/01/2006 4:38:15 PM PST by Lunatic Fringe
Breaking on CNN live right now.
Yes, I found it! I spent a lot of time right around there, but didn't remember it. It's just north of I-44, the Turner Turnpike (old Rte66), near Bristow, where there were several fires this week, and just south of Drumright. That's all a well known oilfield, or actually several right there, Cushing and Drumright both.
Your friend is smack-dab in the middle of the more dengerous fire area. That part of the turnpike south of her is where many of the signs are posted permanently, "Do not drive into smoke." I'll keep an eye out today and the next few ("red flag warning" days) and let you know if anything is close to there.
If the town is very small, I guess it IS possible the phone lines were either affected because of the fire, or the high winds, or the system was overtaxed by a number of calls. Sorry I jumped to conclusions about that. (I'm having a little Branston Pickle and cheese right now, sound familiar to you?)
LOL, that's OK! I'm still sorta new and I was scratching my head about it, trying to "read" an abbreviation into it. But you did make me think of the name of the Bowie produce people and that was a real reach.
Speaking of National Fire Plan, I went to the website for the Oklahoma Dept of Emergency Management to see if they post reports like others states OEM's do and if they had any fire info we didn't know. They do post reports, but they hadn't updated since 12/30/05 when I looked this morning. Will check it later.
P.S. Shamrock is in Creek County, if you notice the weather bulletins sometimes just say the county.
Current fire weather advisories for the area:
~~~~~~
RED FLAG WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1216 PM CST TUE JAN 3 2006
PUSHMATAHA-CHOCTAW-OSAGE-WASHINGTON OK-NOWATA-PAWNEE-TULSA-ROGERS-
CREEK-OKFUSKEE-OKMULGEE-WAGONER-MUSKOGEE-MCINTOSH-PITTSBURG-
HASKELL-LATIMER-
1216 PM CST TUE JAN 3 2006
...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CST THIS
EVENING...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA IS CONTINUING THE RED FLAG
WARNING UNTIL 8 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN OKLAHOMA...
PUSHMATAHA...CHOCTAW...OSAGE...WASHINGTON...NOWATA...PAWNEE...
TULSA...ROGERS...CREEK...OKFUSKEE...OKMULGEE...WAGONER...
MUSKOGEE...MCINTOSH...PITTSBURG...HASKELL...LATIMER.
.......
RED FLAG WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1050 AM CST TUE JAN 3 2006
HARPER-WOODS-ALFALFA-GRANT-KAY-ELLIS-WOODWARD-MAJOR-GARFIELD-
NOBLE-ROGER MILLS-DEWEY-CUSTER-BLAINE-KINGFISHER-LOGAN-PAYNE-
BECKHAM-WASHITA-CADDO-CANADIAN-OKLAHOMA-LINCOLN-GRADY-MCCLAIN-
CLEVELAND-POTTAWATOMIE-SEMINOLE-HUGHES-HARMON-GREER-KIOWA-JACKSON-
TILLMAN-COMANCHE-STEPHENS-GARVIN-MURRAY-PONTOTOC-COAL-COTTON-
JEFFERSON-CARTER-JOHNSTON-ATOKA-LOVE-MARSHALL-BRYAN-HARDEMAN-
FOARD-WILBARGER-WICHITA-KNOX-BAYLOR-ARCHER-CLAY-
1050 AM CST TUE JAN 3 2006
...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CST THIS
EVENING...
A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CST THIS EVENING
FOR ALL OF OKLAHOMA AND NORTHERN TEXAS.
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL RETURN TODAY AS ANOTHER
WARM...DRY...AND WINDY STORM SYSTEM MOVES IN FROM THE WEST.
ALTHOUGH WINDS WILL NOT BE AS STRONG AS THEY WERE SUNDAY...
TEMPERATURES WILL STILL REACH THE MIDDLE 70S TO AROUND 80... WITH
HUMIDITIES DROPPING TO NEAR OR BELOW 20 PERCENT. SOUTH TO
SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO AROUND 20 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 30
MPH. NIGHTFALL WILL HELP EASE THE TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY...BUT
WINDS WILL TURN NORTHWEST AND REMAIN GUSTY BEHIND A COLD FRONT.
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.
IF A WILDFIRE ESCAPES AN INITIAL ATTACK... RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED
TO EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY FOR A SAFE ZONE. LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS THE
AUTHORITY TO DEMAND MANDATORY EVACUATING WITHIN TEXAS.
.........
BEAVER-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-
841 AM CST TUE JAN 3 2006
CIMARRON-TEXAS-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-
OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON-GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-
DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH-
841 AM CST TUE JAN 3 2006
...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THIS
AFTERNOON...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THIS
AFTERNOON.
THE COMBINATION OF WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 25 MPH WITH
GUSTS TO NEAR 40 MPH...ALONG WITH LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AND
EXTREMELY DRY FUELS...WILL FACILITATE THE RAPID SPREAD OF FIRES
ACROSS THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES.
IN ADDITION...A BURNING BAN IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLE AND FOR MUCH OF THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN SECTIONS OF
THE TEXAS PANHANDLE.
.........
SEVIER-HOWARD-LITTLE RIVER-MCCURTAIN-RED RIVER-BOWIE-FRANKLIN-
TITUS-CAMP-MORRIS-CASS-WOOD-UPSHUR-MARION-SMITH-GREGG-HARRISON-
CHEROKEE-RUSK-PANOLA-NACOGDOCHES-SHELBY-
623 AM CST TUE JAN 3 2006
...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SHREVEPORT HAS ISSUED A FIRE
WEATHER WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THE WATCH INCLUDES MCCURTAIN COUNTY IN THE
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA PROTECTION AREA...ARKANSAS DISTRICT TWO...AND
THE LINDEN AND HENDERSON DISTRICTS IN NORTHEAST TEXAS.
~~~~~~~~
Sorry if formatting doesn't look right.
http://www.channeloklahoma.com/news/5819890/detail.html
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Wildfires are flaring up across central Oklahoma again on Tuesday.
BREAKING NEWS VIDEO: 2:00 P.M. Update
A wildfire reported near Hefner Road and Western Avenue was contained earlier Tuesday afternoon, but another popped up at Memorial and Interstate 35. That fire has also been contained.
Crews working a fire in Newcastle, south of town, on Highway 130, and another in Choctaw have those blazes under control.
[Good AP summary story today]
http://www.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=218059&c=87
Oklahoma Ping!
If you want on
or off this list
Freepmail me.
Where in Choctaw?
Are you talking about the one at SE29 and Post? It is now contained they say.
Correction: I mean SE 29 between Douglas and Post.
I don't know--checking that website now.
Oh dear God -- Ping!
Fires Going From Home To Home
POSTED: 12:57 pm CST January 3, 2006
UPDATED: 4:58 pm CST January 3, 2006
http://www.channeloklahoma.com/news/5819890/detail.html
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A wildfire in Shamrock is going from "home to home," according to an official from the Oklahoma state incident command center.
BREAKING NEWS VIDEO: 4:30 P.M. Wildfire Update
Officials said that three homes have burned so far in Shamrock, which is about five miles south of Drumright, and that the blaze was spreading.
In addition, a wildfire has reignited near Newcastle, along Highway 130.
Another blaze has five crews busy near the town of Dixon, which is northwest of Wewoka, near Wewoka Lake. Crews from Stroud, Kendrick, Davenport, Chandler and Agra are at the scene.
A wildfire reported near Hefner Road and Western Avenue was contained earlier Tuesday afternoon, but another popped up at Memorial and Interstate 35. That fire has also been contained.
That's the update, in my post above. Heavens, blueroze's friend is in Shamrock; glad you pinged me.
Blueroze, the times shown in the story about Shamrock were about 90 minutes ago, our time.
PKM, can you see the Newcastle fire? Have any cropped up near you? Let us know.
I found this on the same site, ChannelOklahoma, which says it was posted at noon today, but some of it was old news, so I wasn't sure if "this morning" meant today, Tuesday, but it must--some are new fires.
~~~~~~~~
*FIRE SUPPRESSION ACTIVITIES
This morning a large fire continues to burn in an area extending from Prague to Paden to Depew. Additionally, fires are working near Cashion, Prue, Shamrock, Kellyville, Skiatook and Wainright. Forestry officials are completing aerial reconnaissance to identify locations of wildfires and hotspots throughout the state.
On Sunday fires were reported in areas near Depew/Bristow, Wainwright, Prague, Guthrie, Cashion, Stigler, Skiatook, Prue, Kellyville, Slick and Mayesville. Aerial fire suppression was provided by a Blackhawk helicopter at the fire Depew/Bristow area and a Chinook helicopter at a fire near Wellston. Around 4 p.m. the helicopters were grounded due to high winds and dense smoke. Two heavy tankers and three single engine air tankers (SEATs) were sent to the fire near Depew and a nearby fire in Iron Post. One heavy tanker and two SEATs were sent to the fire in Wainright and one heavy tanker and two SEATs were sent to the fire in Shamrock.
Chinook helicopters are equipped with 1,320 gallon buckets for water drops and are stationed out of the Army Aviation Facility in Lexington. Additionally, Blackhawk helicopters, equipped with 660 gallon buckets, are available and stationed out of the Army Aviation Facility in Tulsa. Air tankers can deliver up to 2,500 gallons of fire retardant.
Oklahoma State Forestry Division officials also deployed specialized bulldozers and wild land fire engines, along with incident commanders, to the fires in Shamrock, Welty, Prue, Prague, Paden and Wainright.
~~~~~~~~
http://www.kotv.com/main/home/stories.asp?whichpage=1&id=96435
Fire Damages Structures In Shamrock In Creek County
SHAMROCK, Okla. (AP) -- A grass fire spread into this small northeastern Oklahoma town Tuesday, destroying an abandoned school and some nearby homes and threatening other structures, authorities said.
"It's burning on the south edge of the town of Shamrock, and it's apparently going north, through town," Loren Guyer, the police chief in nearby Drumright said.
He said there have been no reports of injuries and residents were apparently evacuated before the fire spread into the area. In addition to the abandoned school, the fire had spread to at least one or two nearby homes, he said.
Since Nov. 1, grass fires have consumed an estimated 331,000 acres, destroyed 200 homes and businesses and been blamed for the death of one person in Oklahoma. Authorities said they fear that dry, windy and unseasonably warm conditions will spark more fires until the parched region gets some rain.
"We're needing a little help from Mother Nature to put this thing to bed. We need some rain," said Michelle Finch, a fire information officer with the Oklahoma Forestry Division.
Fires that began Sunday and continued into Monday reignited Tuesday near Davis, Stroud and Eufaula, said C.J. Norvell, a fire information officer for the Oklahoma Forestry Incident Management Team.
"This is the kind of animal this is," Norvell said. "You get a line around it, and you think you have all the hotspots out. But just one little spark sparking out into dry grass can get some things started again."
As winds picked up and humidity dropped, other fires popped up near Wewoka and Tishomingo, but Norvell did not know how big they were. Two single-engine air tankers were fighting the Wewoka fire.
Near Guthrie, northeast of Oklahoma City, firefighters patrolled fields blackened by earlier fires and extinguished embers as residents assessed the damage to their property and counted their blessings.
"I've always worried about tornadoes," Aimee Cornish said as she stood on charred ground surrounded by cedar trees blackened by flames outside her house six miles east of Guthrie. "Never, ever did I think about a fire."
Cornish's home was among dozens that were damaged or destroyed by grass fires over the long New Year's holiday -- fires that scorched an estimated 31,000 acres of fields and farmland between Cashion and Guthrie.
Myrl Waggoner, a farmer and rancher in Logan County, said flames whipped by 40 mph winds threatened his home.
"It burned right to the back of my house," Waggoner said. "My machinery caught on fire but the fire department was here to put it out. They did a wonderful job. They saved my ass."
Cornish, a teacher in the Putnam City School District, and her husband, Tommy Cornish, a teacher in Oklahoma City, fled their mobile home minutes before flames leaped across a nearby field and lapped at the cinder block foundation of their mobile home.
"We started just grabbing stuff -- clothes, medicine, things I thought I would need," she said. "It still never crossed my mind that it would get this far."
John Burwell, an Oklahoma state forester, said investigations are under way into the cause of recent grass fires but that authorities believe some were started by people burning trash in violation of a ban on all outdoor burning, which has been in place since Nov. 15.
Cigarettes thrown from cars and arcing power lines have also been blamed for some of the grass fires. Burwell said authorities are looking into the possibility that some fires were intentionally set.
~~~~~~~~~
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