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Firefighters Continue to Battle Wildfire in Northwestern Oklahoma

Oklahoma Forestry Services

A coalition of firefighters from five states on Friday worked to contain a wildfire near Woodward in northwestern Oklahoma. The flames scorched more than 57,000 acres.

High winds caused power lines to arc earlier in the week, sparking the fire. Those same winds spread the flames over ninety square miles of dry grassland in Woodward and Harper Counties. No one has been hurt, but farm equipment was engulfed. Fence posts and power poles were torched. A full assessment is underway, but several buildings were likely damaged by flames.

Melanie Karnes is with the Lonestar State Incident Management Team, which coordinated the response.

"For firefighters on the ground, what their main task is right now is working on mop-up, which is just checking hot spots any flare-ups, anything like that, getting those before they get out of control."

The team made a lot of progress on Friday due to calm winds, but officials worry that dangerous fire conditions could return over the weekend.

Joe was a founding reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma (2011-2019) covering the intersection of economic policy, energy and environment, and the residents of the state.
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