Oklahoma Wildfires Ravage Over 170,000 Acres, Hundreds of Homes

Oklahoma has been severely impacted by wildfires that have burned more than 170,000 acres and damaged 293 homes and structures as of Friday. Governor Kevin Stitt attributed the lack of fatalities to effective evacuation orders. Stitt expressed gratitude for the successful evacuations, stating, "Really, the evacuations were just great. I talked to all these families, and they were able to get out."

The wildfires were fueled by a "perfect storm" of conditions, including humidity levels dropping below 10% and strong winds reaching up to 83 mph in some areas. The cause of the fires is still under investigation, but downed power lines are suspected to have contributed.

A state of emergency has been declared for 12 counties, including Oklahoma, Cleveland, Creek, Dewey, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, Pawnee, Payne, Pottawatomie, Roger Mills, and Stephens. This declaration enables affected residents to access federal resources and enforces a law against price gouging in these areas.

The fires have left many communities devastated, with both rural and urban areas affected. In Stillwater, more than 50 homes and structures were impacted. Residents like Rose Van Orden and Jeremy Cook shared their experiences of fleeing their homes and returning to find varying degrees of destruction. Despite the devastation, the community has shown resilience, with neighbors and strangers offering help and support.

More than 200 homes were destroyed in Mannford. Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell traveled to Mannford to lend support. "The Oklahoma Standard, we are already seeing it out there. We have stations across this area with the Red Cross and a lot of churches and non-profits on the ground, so that's great to see as well," said Pinnell.

Governor Stitt has promised a thorough investigation into the causes of the wildfires and is considering preventive measures such as controlled burns under power lines to prevent future incidents. He emphasized the spirit of community, stating, "Neighbors are going to help neighbors as we always do."

DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) staff are coordinating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and local emergency management to schedule Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments beginning Monday.

Initial damage assessments have been underway Saturday and Sunday in advance of the official review with federal partners. By Sunday afternoon, state and local emergency management staff had identified more than 400 homes damaged statewide.

RESIDENTS ASKED TO REPORT DAMAGE

To help identify all areas of damage across the state, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management is asking residents impacted by wildfires and/or straight-line-winds to report damages to their property at damage.ok.gov. Reporting damage helps local and state emergency managers better coordinate response and recovery efforts and can help connect residents to resources. Residents can report damage to homes, businesses or agriculture through the online survey.

STATE OF EMERGENCY

A State of Emergency remains in effect for 12 Oklahoma counties due to wildfires and fire weather conditions that began Friday. Under the Executive Order, state agencies can make emergency purchases and acquisitions needed to expedite the delivery of resources to local jurisdictions. The declaration also marks a first step toward seeking federal assistance should it be necessary. The counties included in the governor’s declaration are: Cleveland, Creek, Dewey, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, Oklahoma, Pawnee, Payne, Pottawatomie, Roger Mills, and Stephens.

Additional counties may be added as damage assessments are completed.

FATALITIES & INJURIES

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has confirmed four fatalities related to the fires or high winds:

• 1 – Lincoln County
• 1 – Garfield County
• 1 – Haskell County
• 1 – Pawnee County

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, 142 injuries related to the fires and high winds have been reported by area hospitals.

• 7 – Burn
• 9 – Cut/Pierce
• 31 – Fall
• 1 – Poisoning
• 16 – Struck
• 36 – Transportation Related
• 42 – Other Fire or Wind Related

MASS CARE

American Red Cross is supporting shelters and feeding in Luther, Mannford, Shawnee, and Stillwater. Since Friday, they have served nearly 1,220 meals.

The Salvation Army is providing up to 1,200 meals per day in Stillwater. They will be deploying feeding units to support Stillwater, Mannford and Pawnee.

Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief has a feeding kitchen set up in partnership with American Red Cross to support meals for impacted residents and responders in Logan, Pawnee, Payne counties.

The following shelters remain open:

• First Methodist Church of Mannford, 100 E Greenwood Ave, Mannford
• Grand Casino, Grand Eagle Room, 777 Grand Casino Boulevard, Shawnee
• Luther Community Center, 18120 Hog Back Road, Luther
• Payne County Fairgrounds, 4518 Expo Circle East, Stillwater

POWER OUTAGES

Power crews have been working diligently to restore power across the state. Currently, there are less than 1,000 outages statewide.

FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE GRANTS SECURED

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved the state’s request for 13 Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAGs) for the following fires:

• 840 Road Fire – Leedey, Roger Mills County
• Stillwater Fire – Stillwater, Payne County
• Luther Fire – Luther/Arcadia/Edmond, Oklahoma County
• East Thunderbird Fire – Little Axe/Norman, Cleveland County
• Little Salt Creek Fire – Mannford, Creek County
• Chandler Fire – Chandler, Lincoln County
• Logan County Fire – Guthrie, Logan County
• Wildhorse Fire – Velma, Stephens County
• Clear Pond Fire – Bethel Acres/Shawnee, Pottawatomie County
• Underwood Fire – Yale / Cushing, Payne County
• Keystone Fire – Osage, Pawnee County
• Barn Fire – Cleveland, Pawnee County
• Norge Fire – Chickasha, Grady County

The FMAGs may help reimburse local governments, volunteer fire departments and other first responders for costs associated with responding to the fires. The authorization makes FEMA funding available to reimburse 75 percent of state, local and tribal government eligible firefighting costs for the designated fires. Federal fire management assistance is provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund.

Fire departments and other agencies that responded to the fires above are advised to document all costs related to equipment and supplies (including fuel), labor costs, travel and per diem, temporary repairs of damage caused by firefighting activities, mobilization, and demobilization.

PRICE GOUGING STATUTE IN EFFECT

The Emergency Price Stabilization Act is in effect following today’s declaration of emergency for 12 counties devastated by yesterday’s wildfires. The law, also referred to as the price gouging statute, prohibits an increase of more than 10 percent for the price of goods and services and helps protect citizens from unfair price hikes. The statute is in effect for Cleveland, Creek, Dewey, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, Oklahoma, Pawnee, Payne, Pottawatomie, Roger Mills and Stephens Counties.

DIAL 211

For Oklahoma residents seeking non-emergency disaster or health and human service information, please contact your local 2-1-1. Services are available 24 hours a day by dialing 2-1-1 from your home or cellular telephone. Please only call 9-1-1 for emergencies.