Posted on 04/09/2009 7:13:45 PM PDT by MSgt Smith
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Several wildfires are burning across Oklahoma on Thursday, shutting down highways, interstates and forcing evacuations.
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Fire officials said several fires are burning across southern Oklahoma including wildfires in Carter and Stephens counties, near cities such as Elmore City and Ratliff City. All local fire departments are battling these blazes.
Fire officials confirmed that structures have been damaged in these southern Oklahoma wildfires including homes, churches and trailers. There have been no reports of injuries or fatalities as of yet.
This is in addition to two fires reported near Lindsay, one north of the town and one south.
A wildfire near Stillwater has forced the closure of a state highway and an Interstate on Thursday, police said.
The first call on this wildfire in Payne County came in at 1:29 p.m., according to Stillwater police. Part of state Highway 51 and Interstate 35 have been shut down, but officers said they weren't sure which parts exactly had been closed.
The wildfire is headed to the northeast, and firefighters from Stillwater are trying to contain it by staying ahead of it.
Another large grass fire has been reported in Lincoln County near the town of Wellston. Fire officials said several acres and at least one home have been destroyed.
Oklahoma is under an extreme fire danger, and there are wind warnings all across western parts of the state.
The weather channel was showing an out of control fire in Oklahoma City. It lit up the whole horizon.
Yes, lots of fires around Dallas today - the air was full of smoke downtown. (The Dallas Morning News has fallen so far that they rely on the AP for local stories now:)
High winds fueling Texas wildfires (AP)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D97F71K00.html
I’ve been watching that all night on TV, local stations are covering the fires rather than scheduled programming. Fires on the east and southeast side of OKC are terrible. As of 10:00pm there are many fires still out of control in residential areas. Residents evacuated hours ago but the fires, driven by very high winds, are more than the local fire departments can fight. Its going to be a long night here in OKC.
These homes are in mostly heavily wooded neighborhoods, so sad to watch this, as I have many friends out there and no word yet.
They are going to shelters for the night, set up at the community centers in Midwest City. Then I am sure their Insurance Co's will put them in a Hotel. This is the worst I have ever seen in Okla. News said it is worse in way of damage than the May 4th tornado.
Gainesville, Tx.areas was on fire, Arbuckle Mts., Ok. on fire, Purcell, Ok. on fire, Sparks, Chandler, Lindsay Ok. on fire. Pray it rains soon.
Yup. Drought. Really bad one too. We will need hurricanes early this year to change things.
Just heard the forecast today...only six 'named' hurricanes forecast for this year.
Obama’s fault?
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