High winds continue to threaten Oklahoma after wildfires destroyed and damaged hundreds of homes
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Days after deadly fires swept across Oklahoma, Andrine Shufran and her husband spent Monday raking through the ashes of their home in a neighborhood that she said 'looks like a checkerboard' as officials warned that high winds this week will again raise wildfire risk in the state.
'There's no predictability or fairness about destroyed houses,' Shufran said. 'There's only two options for the homes in our neighborhood: standing or burned to the ground.'
Over 400 homes were severely damaged or destroyed in the outbreak of wildfires that started Friday in Oklahoma. At least four people died due to the fires or high winds, including a person who died in a vehicle accident as a result of poor visibility due to dust or smoke, officials said.
While calm weather over the weekend helped crews get a handle on most wildfires burning across Texas and Oklahoma, forecasters at the National Weather Service said extremely critical fire weather conditions were expected Tuesday over an area spanning from southeastern New Mexico through the Texas Panhandle and into western Oklahoma.
'These fires, once they get started, become really hard to stop," said Keith Merckx of Oklahoma Forestry Services. "They move more quickly than our resources can keep up with.'
He said officials will be returning their attention toward western and central Oklahoma, where high winds are expected to pick back up again over the next few days.
In Stillwater, a city of about 50,000 about 65 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City and home to Oklahoma State University, over 70 homes were destroyed by wildfires. The toll included Shufran's house, which burned to the ground in a matter of hours.
The smell of plastic lingered as she and her husband sifted through the remnants of their home.
Shufran, a director at Insect Adventure — a petting zoo part of OSU and the university's extension campuses — said current and former students, friends and city officials have stepped in to help her and her husband.
'I've been more overwhelmed by how fantastic Oklahomans are when they're friends with you, or neighbors with you, because we've had so many people reach out,' Shufran said.
Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce warned on Facebook on Monday afternoon of worsening fire conditions in the area.
'Be prepared to take action quickly, if necessary,' he wrote.
Southwest of Stillwater, residents in two parts of rural Logan County were urged to evacuate their homes Monday afternoon after wildfires that already burned more than 47 square miles (120 square kilometers) in the county since Friday picked back up amid high winds and dry conditions. An evacuation shelter had been set up at the county fairgrounds in Guthrie, said Logan County Deputy Emergency Management Director Shawn Pierce.
Pierce said an estimated 54 homes were destroyed in last week's fire in the county, which is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City.
About an hour's drive west in Chandler, Deborah Ferguson told News 9 that her husband, Allen Ferguson, died after fighting a wildfire in a pasture with their 15-year-old son. She said that as they fled on a four-wheeler, it crashed into a tree in the heavy smoke.
State Rep. Jim Shaw said in a statement Monday that Ferguson was a 'beloved youth wrestling coach" who died while trying to save his son, who remains in critical condition.
About 10 fires continued to burn in Texas on Monday as officials geared up for more high winds Tuesday, said Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Erin O'Connor.
Although most of the fires have been contained due to slower winds Sunday, Texas officials are expecting wildfire danger to ramp up further into the week, O'Connor said.
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AP reporter Sean Murphy contributed to this report from Oklahoma City.
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Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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