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Multiple fires in southern Logan County, driven by very high and gusty winds, caused huge amounts of trouble all around Logan County last Friday and into the weekend.
Initial fire reports began coming in as early as 2:00pm as a fire was reported near Bryant Ave and Simpson Rd in southwest Guthrie. The winds pushed the fire east and it crossed I-35 and more fire response teams arrived, from as far away as Piedmont and Lincoln County.
At 3:37pm on Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service relayed an official Fire Warning from the Oklahoma Forestry Department, regarding a large and dangerous wildfire 5 miles south-southeast of Guthrie, moving rapidly east ahead of the winds at 3 to 5 mph.
Interstate 35 was closed in both directions between Seward Road and Simmons Road, with traffic stopped as far south as Waterloo Road. The interstate was not re-opened for traffic until nearly 7:45pm Friday night. Additionally, several of the main north-side roads were also closed, including Broadway, Coltrane, Sooner, Pine, and Midwest Blvd.
During the closures, traffic was diverted through Guthrie as a detour plan to alleviate congestion of already-stopped vehicles on the interstate; however, this still caused massive traffic issues, as not all closed roads and reroutes were marked in mobile navigation apps such as Google Maps, taking many drivers far off-course and worsening travel times and conditions. Guthrie News Leader reporters on-site covering the fires had to assist multiple drivers who had been diverted by their navigation apps directly into the path of the fire. One driver coming south from Kansas was attempting to find Highway 177 while on her way to McAlester but ended up near the Lazy E Arena and in the path of the fire.
Fire crews regrouped around 5:00pm at Woodcrest Baptist Church on Douglas Blvd, as the fire had pushed all the way to near Pittman Ave and Douglas Blvd, threatening the Lazy E Arena, where the annual Bob Feist Invitational rodeo event was being held this weekend. There were nine different departments involved at that point, including units from Oak Cliff, Woodcrest, Sooner, Meridian, Coyle, Langston, Miller, Big Four, and Piedmont.
Multiple law enforcement agencies were also working hard to evacuate the areas in and around the path of the fire, including Guthrie PD and the Logan County Sheriff ’s Office.
Guthrie Public Schools held all bus service and parents were encouraged to pick up their children directly. Superintendent Mike Simpson announced on Facebook that the last Guthrie student was not delivered home until after 8:00pm Friday evening.
By Saturday morning most of the fire was contained, with crews still working to find and put out any remaining hotspots, as fire conditions were still very bad and any flare-ups could reignite the conflagration, threatening additional homes and buildings.
OG&E reported multiple power outages in Guthrie and Logan County, with as many as 3000+ customers affected. Also, Internet services from both Cox and AT&T were completely down in Guthrie, after approximately 2:15pm that afternoon.
Fortunately, there were no reported fatalities as a result of the fire, though dozens of homes and other structures were lost.
Logan County Emergency Management stated that the Red Cross had set up at the Philadelphia Assembly of God mail processing building at 2301 W Simmons Rd in south Logan County, to start opening cases for any residents who need assistance.
Fire crews were still working through Sunday to keep the fires under control and prevent flare-ups. Damage assessment crews began Monday morning. Logan County issued an official burn ban on Monday morning, to run for two weeks until Monday, April 17th. Also, a fire weather watch is still in effect from the National Weather Service.