MANNFORD, Okla. -- Losses from the recent wildfires, including one that has scorched about 60,000 acres in Creek County, could reach into the "hundreds of millions" of dollars, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak said.
Officials on Tuesday declined to estimate how many homes have been destroyed, saying they will begin documenting the damage later this week for a possible federal disaster declaration.
But Creek County Sheriff's Deputy Don Turner, who has driven the area extensively, said he estimated at least 300 homes in the county have been destroyed, and the American Red Cross reported that assessment teams canvassed the county Tuesday and reported 209 homes destroyed.
Doak said more than half of the residents affected by the wildfires could be uninsured. At least 61 schoolchildren in Creek County have been displaced, authorities said.
Michelann Ooten, deputy director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said teams will begin documenting the damage no later than the end of this week.
Accurate damage assessments must happen before Gov. Mary Fallin can request assistance from the federal government, Ooten said. Getting that federal assistance depends on the number of uninsured and the amount of needs that can't be met on the state, county and local levels, OEM spokeswoman Kelli Cain said.
In Oklahoma, "... unfortunately we've had all too much experience," Ooten said. "That's a silver lining, if you will. We know the process. We know how to do it. As soon as we can get boots on the ground and it's safe to do so, we will do that."
As of Tuesday, the cause of the wildfire wasn't being investigated because it appears to be natural, said Tulsa Fire Department Capt. Mark May, spokesman for the Freedom Hill fire in Creek County, as it is being called.
A few burn injuries have been reported by residents trying to salvage items from their homes, and about a dozen firefighters have been treated for heat exhaustion.
Light winds and high humidity Tuesday helped the efforts of firefighters, who did controlled burns to deplete the blaze's fuel, May said.
Oklahoma Forestry Services units have built 30 to 40 miles of control line around the fire, Forestry Services spokesman John Goeller said.
Winds on Wednesday could be problematic, he said.
"Right now, we don't have a containment line all the way around it, so we can't say it's contained at all," May said. "If the winds come up real strong right now, we're in trouble."
The National Weather Service forecast southeast winds of 5-10 mph, becoming north-northeast in the afternoon on Wednesday. There is also a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1 p.m.
The high is expected to be near 100, with heat-index values near 105, forecasters said.
Residents returning
Jacki Norrid and her husband, James, lost their home of eight years.
"There's nothing left," she said. "It's all gone. We got the animals out. Nobody's hurt. Now it's just cleanup."
Jacki left the residence about 20 minutes before the residence went up. James stayed around to help firefighters.
"It was like a ceiling of fire," James said. "... It engulfed the whole thing. It was gone in a matter of seconds."
Tuesday, Donald Aldridge inspected the charred remains of the home of his ex-wife, Wilta Thornton, on Oklahoma 48. He also looked for her 14-year-old cat named "Kitty, Kitty."
"I'm still recuperating from the heat (of the wildfire)," he said. "Have you ever welded? That's the way my eyes feel right now."
Pointing out the blackened remnants of the residence, including the stove he recently purchased for Thornton, he maintained a sense of humor.
"At least I don't have to mow the grass for a while," Aldridge said. "Oh well. it could have been worse. She could have been in it."
Red Cross shelters
The Red Cross reported that seven residents displaced by area fires stayed overnight Monday at a Sand Springs shelter and one resident stayed at a shelter in Cushing. The Red Cross did not have numbers for its Lexington shelter.
The shelter in Sand Springs has been moved to the First United Methodist Church in Mannford.
Since the wildfires began, the Red Cross has recorded more than 230 overnight stays at its shelters, the organization reported.
The organization has also served about 1,900 meals and 11,500 snacks, according to a news release.
Nearly 150 Red Cross volunteers are responding to wildfire-damaged areas.
Copyright 2012 - Tulsa World, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
