Firefighters Rethink Rules On Controlled Burns After Tuttle Grass Fire

A fire just outside Tuttle has firefighters rethinking the rules on controlled burns.

A landowner started the controlled burn on Sunday, a day where the wind got up to 30 miles per hour. The fire quickly got out of control and jumped the North Canadian River.

1/19/2014 Related Story: "Controlled" Burn Gets Out Of Hand Near Tuttle

By Sunday night, the fire was contained.

"I don't know what he was thinking," Tuttle Fire Chief Bruce Anthony said about the landowner.

"We knew in advance this gentleman wanted to burn. We discouraged it," Chief Anthony said.

The land where the fire was set is in unincorporated county land. The landowner does not need a permit to burn.

Chief Anthony says the landowner also did not want firefighters to put out the blaze.

"We don't have the authority to go in there and force him to put it out on his land," the Tuttle Fire Chief said.

That authority could come as early as Tuesday. Grady County Commissioners are expected to decide on a countywide burn ban Tuesday.

Right Now, four Oklahoma counties are under a burn ban.