The little red notification popped up on my Facebook last week and I couldn’t help but look and see what it was. This notice was for storm tracker Marty Logan going live to a wildfire in Dewey County, Oklahoma on April 12. Weather forecasters had been calling weather conditions "historic" for a couple days already.
After what happened to the Scott farm last year during the Starbuck fire, wildfires make me really, really nervous for those in their path. To say I’m scarred would be an understatement. I know the helpless feeling. I know the heartbreak. I know the uncertainty. But this time it’s not about me though.
I can talk all day about the Starbuck fire, but it won’t help those 50-something people who’ve lost their homes and countless others who’ve lost livestock in the fires near Woodward, Vici, Leedey and Camargo, Oklahoma. Those people need the help like we received—the hay and feed donations, the fencing supplies, the moral and emotional support. From the looks of it, help is on the way for those in Oklahoma.
As I watched the live video from Marty, I couldn’t help but get anxious and continue watching to see if the people surrounded by the fires would get the help they so desperately needed. I could hear the urgency in the voice of Marty and another storm tracker, Val Castor saying how strong the winds were and how the helicopters weren’t able to get a handle on the fires with their water drops.
Today, April 17, we’re under a red flag warning and a high wind warning until 9 p.m. I’ve noticed more than one instance of the National Weather Service and forestry service officials using the terms "historic" or "extreme fire danger" and a couple other terms.
This is no joke people. These fires are serious business. Land, livestock, people and homes are all in danger. Even small towns. You don’t have to reside in a rural area, some of these small towns have lost residential homes. Be prepared. It’s better to be prepared and not have to evacuate or deal with a wildfire, than to be stuck somewhere or lose your home or your life.
If you can, donate. Most of the small, rural fire departments are volunteer-led and run. The High Plains Journal website has a list of places to donate.
We received a number of donations after the Starbuck fire and were eternally grateful for every single thing. I struggle with this fire in northwest Oklahoma because I know where those towns are they’re talking about. After I graduated from Oklahoma State I worked at the daily newspaper in Woodward, Oklahoma. I traveled to many of these towns as a reporter and to barrel races when I lived there.
Many of these areas haven’t had measurable moisture since last fall. Southwest Kansas is in the same predicament as those in Oklahoma. We all just need some relief. A long, soaking rain can repair the land and the soul. It just might take a miracle at this point.
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater." Isaiah 55:10 NIV
