Monday, August 6, 2012

Wildfires in Oklahoma

View behind the property
Wildfires raged across  Northeast  Oklahoma this weekend.  To say it was scary would be an understatement. The drought has turned everything here into a giant tinderbox.  The town's just a few miles to the north and to the west had to be evacuated.  Over 50,000 acres were burned and several homes were lost. It appears they have the fires under control at the moment.  I just hope they stay that way.  We came extremely close to bugging out and would have had the fires gotten any closer.  The winds were in our favor Saturday and kept the biggest fire pushed to our north.  We watched the smoke most of the day and later the flames in the night sky.  A bit before dark I saw the smoke from the fire in the town to the west of us. It must have been moving pretty quickly because they had evacuated the entire town in just two hours.   A cool front moved in and kind of stopped the progress of the fire some. To say it was a long night would be an understatement. We did manage to get a little sleep but not much.
   This morning we awoke to thick smoke hanging in the air.  We tried to get some information on what was going on with the fires.  Where they were located, what direction they were moving in, what roads were still closed and which were now open.  Can you believe we couldn't find a single bit of information on the radio?  I'm assuming that the stations here must be on some sort of Sunday pre-recorded programing because not even the news was "new".    So we took a ride out toward the west to see if we could tell how far away the fires were.  We didn't go to far but realized that if they were still burning we were going to have to evacuate.  Mars re-installed the 5th wheel hitch in the ( wrecked and totally illegal) truck and was in the process of taking the skirting off the trailer when we realized that the smoke was clearing up and we couldn't see the smoke clouds in the sky. The fires has been contained.   We came so close to loosing most everything this weekend. Many did.  My prayers are with them all.
Posted by Unknown

14 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 6, 2012 at 6:04 AM

    Stay safe, Sci ...that looks too close for comfort!

    ~HB

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dizzy-DickAugust 6, 2012 at 6:44 AM

    Talk about a close call!! Glad the wind shifted in your favor, but always feel sad for those not so lucky.

    ReplyDelete
  3. kymberAugust 6, 2012 at 10:15 AM

    oh Sci - i can imagine your nerves were on edge - that is scary-close! but i am very glad that you are out of harm's way and that the fires are controlled. i feel terrible for the people who lost anything in these fires. i am glad that you are both ok.

    your friend,
    kymber

    ReplyDelete
  4. HermitJimAugust 6, 2012 at 10:47 AM

    I'm just glad you didn't have to bug out, my friend! At least you had a plan, something that many don't!

    Try and stay safe! Our prayers go out for you and for the poor folks that lost so much!

    Guess it's time to count those blessings again!

    ReplyDelete
  5. JMDAugust 6, 2012 at 1:15 PM

    We just went through the same thing a couple of months ago and the smoke hung heavy in the air and blocked significant visibility. Very scary stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sandy LivesayAugust 6, 2012 at 1:22 PM

    Sci,

    I'm so glad to hear the winds blew the other direction. Be careful girl, it's getting pretty bad out here too. Can you believe the fire that was closes to us, an arsonist supposedly set it off. Many people are without homes and farms. We're not over this drought for a while, be very careful. Give Mars a hug and tell him to give you one back from your Okie friend :-)
    Sandy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Amy DingmannAugust 6, 2012 at 4:40 PM

    Stay safe!! That's gotta be one of the scariest things to look out and see. My prayers are with everyone who is dealing with this...

    ReplyDelete
  8. KenAugust 6, 2012 at 5:23 PM

    ...just Keep The Faith Sci, we got tinder dry conditions also, lots of grass fires lately(their blaming lightning strikes...i'm blaming careless smokers, and burn piles during a "burn ban") anyway...speakin'of oklahoma, was in broken bow, near the lake this past wknd...tis about 50 miles west/southwest from me(as the crows fly...alot further in road miles...lol)

    ...be careful, and be quick...

    ReplyDelete
  9. LindaGAugust 6, 2012 at 7:38 PM

    Glad to hear you are all safe. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownAugust 6, 2012 at 10:05 PM

    I want to say thanks to all of you for your kind words. I had written to each of you individually and Blogger ate my replies. Please forgive my blanket thanks.

    My internet (WildBlue Sucks) has been slowed down and we are in "time out" right now with super slow speeds. Loading a page is painfully slow.

    I just want you all to know how much it means to me that you are here for me.

    ReplyDelete
  11. gailAugust 7, 2012 at 5:09 AM

    We also saw the fires on TV, even over here in Australia. You folks have certainly had a tough summer. Glad you didn't have to evacuate. We will keep you in our prayers and especially pray for good soaking rain.

    Blessings Gail

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousAugust 7, 2012 at 5:56 AM

    Ugh, can't imagine how that feels. Praying for you and everyone in that area

    ReplyDelete
  13. KatididsAugust 7, 2012 at 9:47 AM

    I've been following the fires on the local news, sure makes for a few sleepless nights! The news had the coment at least one of the fires was arson. They should make that person go meet and work for each person who suffered a loss for the rest of his life!
    You were wise to have the hitch in and ready. How close did it get to you? Smoke would be close enough for me!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Just*UsOctober 22, 2012 at 7:12 PM

    I was reading about the wildfires... just came across your site. Some of my family lives in the Mannford and Yale area. Friends all through out the area. My niece lost property in the fires. So sad... just what area are you in?

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)