The weather forecast for Thursday, April 19, is finally bringing a bit of a needed breather to fire crews in Oklahoma, allowing them to repair fire suppression equipment and take a beat to review events of the past week.
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry-Forestry Services provided status updates the morning of April 19.
The weather forecast has temperatures from 40 to 60 degrees, with higher relative humidities from the teens in the Panhandle to less than 25 percent closer to the Interstate 35 corridor. Winds are forecast to be a bit calmer, with southwest winds 15 to 25 mph, gusting 25 to 40 mph.
Officials are still warning fire crews and the public that the probability of ignition is still 60 to 70 percent due to the abundance of dry fuels. OFS warned fire crews to expect a one-half to 1 mph spread rate with 10-foot flame lengths in areas. The chance of fire may be less today, the report stated, but there is still reason for the public to be mindful of the Governor’s Burn Ban.
“Any new wildfire starting today has the potential to burn with rapid rates of spread and be resistant to control,” the report stated. “Fire behavior today in the main body of Oklahoma will be primarily terrain-drive, but the highest rates of spread will be where terrain and winds align.”
• 34 Complex Fire: 67,778 acres, 45 percent contained. There were no new initial attacks April 18, which allowed night shifts to mop up burning hay bales and hot spots. The 34 Complex has been burning since April 12, when three separate fires in Woodward and Harper counties combined due to high winds and low humidity. OFS ordered a National Type 2 Incident Management Team, the Southern Area Gold Team, to join Unified Command and provide management support to local firefighting resources from Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas.
• Rhea Fire: 283,095 acres, 15 percent contained. The Florida Forest Service Red Team, Type 1 IMT, is managing the Rhea Fire, working with local fire departments.
Rain has been forecast, but the OFS asks the public to take this time to assess property vulnerabilities and to be mindful of the Governor’s Burn Ban, still in place. For tips to assess property vulnerability, visit www.firewiseusa.org.
Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached at 620-227-1807 or [email protected].
