Officials warn of historic wildfire potential Friday

Thousands of acres have burned in wildfires across Oklahoma since Wednesday and conditions are set to worsen Friday, when the level of fire danger has been categorized as “historic.”

Describing conditions Friday as "fairly unique" and "almost historic," Drew Daily, fire staff officer for the Oklahoma Forestry Services, said predicted weather conditions combined with dry fuel in areas with severe drought will allow for any fires that spark to quickly spread.

Temperatures Friday are expected to climb into the low 80s for parts of the state, with wind gusts up to 52 mph and relative humidity as low as 7 percent, according to the National Weather Service, which has labeled the fire weather danger as historic, the most severe category.

Most of western and central Oklahoma are under a red flag warning for Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to the weather service.

Parts of northwestern Oklahoma and the Panhandle are listed as experiencing exceptional drought, with much of the area having received less than an inch of rain in the last 180 days, according to the Oklahoma Mesonet weather network. Dry vegetation in the area is expected to further fuel any fires that spark.

“We’re going to see a cold front that will push into Oklahoma that is going to bring with it, again, very strong winds but then also a change in wind direction. As that cold front moves through, fire danger is going to be pushed eastward through Oklahoma to where it nearly lines up with the I-44 corridor,” Daily said.

Wind speeds are expected to increase ahead of the cold front as it pushes east, where the threat of wildfire spread, which could move as fast as 5 mph, will leave sparsely populated western Oklahoma and enter into heavily populated areas, Daily said.

“The fire danger, and ultimately, the fire weather that we’re going to see is going to promote this rapid rate of spread that could be life-threatening,” Daily said, adding that large wildfires will not only endanger the lives of first responders, but residents as well.

Hundreds of acres had burned and several structures were destroyed as of Thursday afternoon, with the largest fires reported in Kay and Dewey counties.

Forestry officials said an estimated 400 acres burned in the Kay County Brake Fire, which was about 50 percent contained Thursday afternoon. Also in Kay County, the State Highway 11 burned just under 410 acres and was about 75 percent contained Thursday afternoon.

In Dewey County, the Rhea Fire, about nine miles southeast of Leedey, had burned an estimated 19,000 acres by 7:30 p.m. Thursday. It was “growing rapidly with numerous structures threatened,” forestry officials said. Aircraft were dispatched to assist firefighters battling the fire.

Aircraft were also dispatched Thursday afternoon to a fire reported about 10 miles south of Woodward.

In Woodward County, forestry service officials estimate 115,000 acres have burned and the blaze continued to grow. Evacuations were ordered, as structures were threatened.

Two storage buildings and a mobile home were destroyed in a Wednesday afternoon fire in Canadian County, which was thought to have started from a vehicle backfiring on a residential property.

Residents are urged to avoid activities that might spark a fire, such as outdoor grilling and welding, and should call their local fire department or 911 to report any suspicious smoke or fire.

We’re going to see a cold front that will push into Oklahoma that is going to bring with it, again, very strong winds but then also a change in wind direction. As that cold front moves through, fire danger is going to be pushed eastward through Oklahoma to where it nearly lines up with the I-44 corridor.” Drew Daily, fire staff officer for the Oklahoma Forestry Services