Woodward, Okla. —

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After more than 1,500 acres of grass and woodland burned in the Woodward area this Labor Day weekend, Woodward Fire Marshal Todd Finley said the need for rain is more evident than ever.

In fact, beyond encouraging citizens to thank the firefighters who worked hard to put out 5 big wildfires that ignited in the area this Sunday and Monday, Finley said he would also encourage them to “Just pray for some rain.”

The fire marshal said it was a combination of abundant dry vegetation, low humidity, and high winds that led 3 of the 5 wildfires to burn 100 acres or more.



CEDARDALE

The largest fire was located north of Cedardale along County Road N/S 225 between County Roads E/W 43 and 45.  The Cedardale fire burned an estimated 1,200 acres, Finley said.

However, he said, “it is hard to get an accurate count of the exact number of acres because the fire burned through some canyons.”

The fire’s location in these canyons is also what allowed it to continue burning for 2 days, he said.

The Cedardale fire was reported around 5:10 p.m. Sunday and Finley said firefighters were able to get “a good knockdown on it” that evening.  However, because they weren’t able to completely extinguish flames still burning in the canyons, the fire flared back up around 7:30 Monday morning when the winds picked back up, he said.

However, by 8:30 p.m. Monday night, firefighters “had all the flare-ups contained,” he said.  A wind shift then “pushed the fire back into the burned areas,” he said, allowing firefighters to set up a good perimeter and keep the fire from spreading.

Finley said there were a couple of structures in the path of the Cedardale fire, however firefighters were able to protect them from damage.



FORT SUPPLY LAKE

That was not the case in another major fire that erupted near campsites at Fort Supply Lake around noon Monday.

The fire marshal said as soon as Fort Supply units arrived on the scene of that fire, an abandoned mobile home was “completely involved” in flames.

“But instead of focusing their energy on trying to get that out, since they knew it was a lost cause, the firefighters focused instead on protecting other homes in that housing addition,” Finley said, noting about 12 to 15 homes were in the immediate area.

Those homes and campgrounds at the lake were evacuated as winds fueled the Fort Supply fire to burn an estimated 150 acres of woodland and native grasses.

“The estimate Civil Defense is using is 400 to 500 people that were evacuated; that is the entire park and the housing addition,” said Don Underwood, lead ranger at Fort Supply Lake.

“I would say that’s a pretty close estimate,” Underwood saying, noting that around noon on Labor Day “typically we’ll have 3/4ths of the campsites full.”

He said that in the area where the fire started, which was near Campsite No. 57, there were 4 or 5 campsites occupied in a 12-site loop.

However, he said because the fire kept to areas of taller native grasses, where there was more fuel, officials were able to get all campers out safely because areas around campsites are usually mowed and kept short.

While campers and other lake visitors escaped the wildfire without any major injuries, Finley said there was one firefighter who had to be treated at the scene for heat exhaustion.  It was the only injury that was reported during the weekend fires, he said.

Finley said he didn’t have any details as to the identity of the firefighter or even which department he was with as there were around 15 different fire departments assisting with the Fort Supply fire alone.  There were a total of 35 different fire departments who responded to the Cedardale fire, he said.

Finley said support like that is key to protecting lives and properties when fighting such major wildfires.

An added benefit, he said, “is how well we work together.  We’re like one big fire department.”



OTHER FIRES

Having that support also enabled Woodward County fire departments to dedicate manpower to other wildfires that cropped up on Sunday and Monday.

While firefighters were just starting to attack the Cedardale fire Sunday evening, Woodward and Sharon firefighters were called out to another grass fire along Tower Hill Road just south of Hanks Trail.

Although this was the smallest of the wildfires over the weekend, the Hanks Trail and Tower Hill Road fire still did some “devastating” damage, Finley said.

The fire marshal noted that only 4 acres were burned, but on that land were 250 round hay bales that were also destroyed.  Based on an estimated $40 to $65 per bale, this meant property damage of around $10,000 to $16,000 for the landowner, “which is pretty devastating to that farmer,” he said.

On Monday, Woodward County firefighters were called out to a string of 4 fires near County Road N/S 198 and County Road E/W 38 on Reger Hill around 9:30 a.m.

Together these 4 fires, which were all located in a 5-square-mile area, burned an estimated 80 acres of grassland.  But the fire marshal said fortunately there were no structures in the immediate area.

Later, another major wildfire erupted around 6:19 p.m. near 34th Street and Western Avenue, northwest of the Woodward Animal Shelter.

Finley said another 160 acres were burned in this fire, with 80 acres burned on the south side of the North Canadian River and another 80 acres burned on the north side.

There were a few houses in the area of this fire, one of which was evacuated, the fire marshal said.  However, no houses were damaged by this fire, which like the other fires that day was fueled and pushed by strong winds.



WHY SO MANY FIRES AT ONCE?

In addition to being the fuel behind spreading and keeping this weekend’s wildfires going, Finley said the wind is likely to blame for starting most of the fires.

While the string of 4 fires at Reger Hill are potentially “suspicious in nature” and their cause is still under investigation, the fire marshal said 2 of the other 4 fires were caused by electrical arcs from power lines.

Both the Cedardale and Fort Supply fires were ignited after wind whipped and snapped some power lines, causing them to spark and ignite some nearby vegetation.  In the case of the Fort Supply fire, Underwood said the wind was actually able to snap the power pole itself, which had somehow become rotten in places.

A third fire, the one that destroyed 250 hay bales near Hanks Trail and Tower Hill Road, was reported as being started by “heat from power equipment,” Finley said.  However, he said it was unclear from the report that he received whether this meant tractor equipment or if this fire, too, was started by a power line.

The final fire, the one that started near the Woodward dog pound, was potentially started by a discarded cigarette, Finley said, but noted that it’s cause is still under investigation.