Weekend wildfires burn more than 3,000 acres in northern Oklahoma

Wildfires raged across parts of northern Oklahoma during the weekend, burning thousands of acres of land and threatening homes and farms.

The fires came amid a prolonged drought in the Sooner State that has damaged crops, dried up farm ponds and resulted in numerous countywide burn bans.

More than 3,000 acres burned Saturday and Sunday in Pawnee and Noble counties in north-central Oklahoma after a piece of farm machinery caught on fire in a Pawnee County hay field, officials said.

Pushed by high winds from the southeast, the fire swept across fields of native prairie, thick trees and deep valleys north of the Cimarron Turnpike, about 21 miles south of Ponca City and east of the intersection of U.S. Highway 177 and State Highway 15. A portion of Highway 15 was closed Saturday night.

Firefighters from roughly 14 departments began responding around 4 p.m. Saturday, Noble County Emergency Management Director Jimmy Smith said. The fire was about 6.5 miles long and 2.5 miles wide. Firefighters remained on scene until 5:30 a.m. Sunday, and some crews returned later that morning to extinguish a small flare-up.

More:Retired priest finds meaning growing in Pecan Creek Winery vineyard, along with grapes

Alfalfa, Grant counties fight fire

Firefighters were able to contain the blaze once it reached Sooner Lake, which borders OG&E’s Red Rock electrical generation facility, about 83 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

“The lake was our best friend,” Smith said.

No residential structures were lost in the blaze, and no major injuries were reported, Smith said. One firefighter was treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation and was later released in good condition.

Thick smoke from the fire wafted across parts of northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas Saturday night. In Blackwell, near the Kansas state line in northern Kay County along Interstate 35, smoke permeated through the town. People as far north as Hutchinson, Kansas, reported smelling and seeing smoke as well.

Although the blaze didn’t scorch homes, it came within a few yards of some near Highway 15. The fire burned a few feet away from a home near 33600 Road in Noble County, charring the front yard and surrounding fields.

As he refueled his farm pickup at the gas station in nearby White Eagle on Sunday morning, Morrison farmer and state regent Dennis Casey showed photos of the fire moving across the land during the night. The blaze lit up the sky, and the direction of the wind kept it from getting too close to his home.

More:3 hand sanitizer fires, 1 owner. What's behind fires at Oklahoma company facing $6.6M penalty?

“With it being so dry, it was just like gasoline,” Casey said. “It was moving 10 to 15 miles per hour, and it had plenty of fuel. You’ve really got to give it up to the firemen. They did a heck of a job. We were pretty blessed.”

On Sunday, dust, dirt and black soot filled the sky. Utility crews replaced burned electrical poles, and ranchers used livestock trailers to move cattle out of burned pastures.

The weekend wildfire came almost one month after a fire along Interstate 35 near Billings in Noble County obscured drivers’ vision and resulted in a fatal multi-car wreck that snarled traffic for hours.

State Highway 11 in Grant and Alfalfa counties in northwest Oklahoma was closed Sunday afternoon in response to a “very large fire and heavy smoke,” according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

The blaze began around 12:30 p.m. and as of press time had burned hundreds of acres within miles of the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, about 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.

“There are currently multiple fire districts actively involved in fighting the fire on the west side of the county,” the Grant County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page Sunday afternoon. “Please avoid the area and send thoughts and prayers for all the brave men and women fighting this fire.”

Calls to Grant County emergency responders were unsuccessful Sunday afternoon.

Farmer and rancher Kevin George, who lives near the intersection of Highway 132 and Highway 11 in Grant County, said flames nearly 40 feet tall shot up as the fire burned cedar trees and thick brush. The blaze came within a half-mile of his home, but his property was not damaged.

“It’s burned off a considerable amount of ground,” he said. “I don’t even want to try to estimate it right now.”

A retired firefighter, George said officials were working to save barns and other structures Sunday afternoon.

Numerous grass fires have been reported across the region in recent weeks amid the state’s record-setting drought conditions. This year, the state has reported some of the driest conditions since the Dust Bowl in 1936, according to the Oklahoma Mesonet.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Weekend wildfires burn more than 3,000 acres in northern Oklahoma