Oklahoma Towns forced to evacuate due to wildfires

Hello from Northeast Oklahoma..as the heat wave and winds help spread the fires..Officals issu the orders for mandatory evacuations of the towns of Manford and Drumright.

I just recieved word from a friend closer to manford that the power is now out for the town and cell phone coverage is down in that area..

At my house several miles east of the fire we are starting to get ash falling from the sky..the smoke plume has all but blocked the sun.. I have some pics of the plume if I can get them from my phone..

Emergency managment reporting over 130 buildings and homes destroyed...
Things are not looking good for this part of the state.


Local news coverage

It is really, really dry here.

I lived in Geronimo, OK for four years while I was stationed at Fort Sill. I miss Oklahoma. Be safe my friend. My thoughts are with you, yours, and all those in the path of this fire. Stay safe.

Prayers for your community and you of course! Here in E. MT we have too many wild fires since this Winter!!!!!!!
Last year epic rainfall and this year dry.... well as almost usual anymore. I have driven through areas lately seeing countless homes and farms burnt to the ground.

Trying times for us all folks. We all know someone struggling or have been dealt a bad hand. Not fair and I think it is just a test/learning curve for us in these on demand/instant gratification times.


Peace
RTIMT

Stay safe, OkieCowboy. You probably already know this but for those who might not - the winds pick up in the afternoon then settle at night (usually) but at night the cool air will sink the smoke and sometimes you have to evacuate quickly for that reason too. Even if you are not under mandatory evacuation it might be good to start prioritizing and packing up a car or truck if you have one. My heart goes out to you and your neighbors.

Also, just a reminder to the wonderful people who make donations to wildfire and firefighting efforts. They need lots of beverages and they typically run short on sugar free beverages so if you're making donations please include sugar free drinks too.

reply to post by ChrisCrikey


They just issued a notice that due to thunderstorm activity in the area ..they are expecting 20mph wind gusts and
Winds changing direction within the next two hours...

Reports coming in are the firefighters had set up a fire line near hwy 51 at manford hoping to stop the blaze..the fire has now jumped that line and has crossed hwy 51..
several of the evacuation routes are now closed for people in the manford area..
Starting to hear reports of other fires starting due to falli.g embers...broken arrow fire dept is now fighting a fire in that area..

reply to post by okiecowboy


It is supposed to rain here in Tulsa. A house down the street already caught fire, hopefully this incoming rain will deter more from doing the same.

News just advised mandatory evacuation orders issued for the towns of jennings and hallet Oklahoma.
and doesnt seem I can upload pics from my phone..so will have to do those later.

Originally posted by okiecowboy
News just advised mandatory evacuation orders issued for the towns of jennings and hallet Oklahoma.
and doesnt seem I can upload pics from my phone..so will have to do those later.

I am going out to water my lawn. I really had no idea it was this bad.

Another aspect of this is that those people whose houses burn will lose everything in it..
All the furniture, a special chair and things they may have inherited from a grandmother.. all lost.
Added to the already stressful situation they will greive for all those Things that made their house a home.

I have thought of this for a very long time and decided that it is best to just not have so many things to get attched to. I used to love little "nik-naks". Not any more; they just add to the burden of loss if worse comes to worse. Currently, I still have too many things. I sold many of my heirloom "nik-naks", and I feel better for not having them to worry about.

I feel for all those people disposessed of all those creature comforts that are a part of "home".

reply to post by OhZone

Again, my heart goes out to all in the path of these fires. After I (and our house) survived the experience I got a lot more organized and prepared and have remained so to this day. I know where everything important is and I never allow our house to get cluttered or have things blocking doorways, windows or other escape routes. A close call can change your life and the way you do things in a big way. I was surprised to see how quickly I could prioritize and identify the most valuable possessions (all very relative and personal, of course) I had - it can be very different from person to person as to what you try to squeeze into your vehicle and take with you. Stay safe, Okies.

Lightning just struck one of my trees. No fires, but it lost a branch.

Scary stuff. I am in Southern Oklahoma, we aren't having any of the fire issues yet, but we are on a burn ban. (we might have had a small fire last week) No bbqs or campfires. Last week was pretty bad heat wise, it got up to over 110 in some areas, but it looks like it will slowly start dropping over the next few weeks.

Sending prayers for all of those in the area.
It is just hard to phantom the devastation caused by these fires.

Thanks all for the well wishes.
As an update...The towns of Manford, Drumright, Jennings, Hallett, Oak grove, Glencoe have been ordered to evacuate...

I have also heard that the town of luther is pretty much gone, also hearing the town of Manford is in bad shape, Blackhawk helicopters from the national guard doing water drops right in the heart of the town..

thunderstorms formed east of the fire area and brought a small amount of rain but also caused the winds to change directions, weather forecast is winds 15-20mph starting in the morning with temps forecast of 111 degrees...might prove to be a long day....at my house we got about about 10 minutes of rain..

Here are a few photos that I took of the smoke plume as seen from my house and some photos of the fire from the local news





The view from manford from news crew

Man, that looks pretty bad.



Hope you stay safe, and thanks for the pics, as that really shows what you are facing. S&F.

reply to post by okiecowboy


Horrible news for all of you. I'll certainly keep you in my thoughts and prayers, and am sending good vibes your way. Those pics are scary, especially that one taken at the intersection, (the fireball is in the sky?) and the one of the home burning right down to the frame. It seems there was good advice given to pack a car ahead of time. Am wishing you all the best.

Hard to deal with. Thoughts and prayers with you and all the towns fighting these fires. Praying for the safety of the people, it is heartbreaking to loose things, but they can be replaced.

I was there today with our wildland task force and can tell you, looking around and seeing everything ablaze and watching homes go up in flames; it was like something out of a doomsday movie. Will be headed back down to that area @ 0730am.

This morning brings cooler temps and a bit of good news.
Overnight cooler temps and rain in some areas have allowed firefighters to get a handle on the fire in creek county..It is still burning but news reporting it's mostly contained..they have lifted evacuation orders for Manford and drumright..power is still out but people can start returning home..

Keep in mind this is only one county..fires still rage out of control in other counties...

Word is of at least one person arrested for looting. . Also hearing reports of those good things that give you hope for mankind...people opening homes up for total strangers....resturants providing free meals.etc..
Firefighters are heros in my book..no doubt about it..