April 14 — DEWEY COUNTY, OK — Garfield County responders continued to aid in area wildfires Saturday.
According to Enid and Garfield County Emergency Management, Garfield County Task Force 1, composed of grass rigs from Waukomis, Garber and Hillsdale, along with a Waukomis tanker, was sent to Putnam in southern Dewey County, and left from Lahoma at 4 p.m. Saturday to aid in battling the wildfires in that area. The update came after another task force was sent to Putnam early Saturday morning and was being relieved.
County rural fire units in the past few days also have been fighting fire in the Woodward and Mooreland area.
In addition, Enid Fire Department sent an engine to Woodward on Thursday to help in covering the Northwest Oklahoma city while Woodward Fire Department units were out helping battle the wildfire north of the county seat. That Enid crew returned Saturday afternoon.
"The situation in Seiling was quite a bit better and the incident commander needed help in the southern part of the county," GCEM said in a Facebook post Saturday morning. "The main fire is along the (North Canadian) river and is inaccessible, but there are bulldozers working to cut fire lines out there at this time. Our guys will be assisting to put out flareups in the area and then we'll see what happens as the day progresses."
GCEM continued to take donations into Saturday afternoon, and also thanked Jumbo Foods, Vance Air Force Base Emergency Management and volunteers for donating and volunteering.
Much of the concern by Saturday morning was focused in Dewey County, where extensive evacuations occurred Friday, with some of them happening overnight in the community of Oakwood, which is between Seiling and Watonga.
By Saturday morning, fire continued burning the area along the North Canadian river, and strong winds threatened to push the blaze out of the river bed.
In Woodward County, Emergency Management Director Matt Lehenbauer in his report Saturday morning said at least eight homes were destroyed and over 20 additional buildings also were destroyed along with hundreds of miles of fence. Complete numbers will take a while to establish.
Lehenbauer said over 60,000 acres have burned in Woodward County — primarily in the series of events known as the 34 Complex Fires — and containment work will continue through the weekend. He noted that spread of the fire has been minimal the past several hours.
The 34 Complex Fires started Thursday afternoon north of Woodward near Reger HIll and also on Oklahoma 34. There also were fires in the Mutual area and other spots south of Woodward.
All roads are open in Woodward County, but emergency traffic will be heavy and power lines and debris are a problem. Visibility could also be an issue with smoke, ash and dust.
A Red Flag fire warning was in effect for Saturday, as well as a state of emergency issued by Gov. Mary Fallin — something that will stay in effect until the fires are 100 percent contained.
On its Facebook page Saturday morning, Northwestern Electric Cooperative reported 1,800 meters across the area still without power, and some 300 to 500 poles were down due to the fires and weather situation.
The Woodward News contributed to this story.
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