Green Country Fire Departments Preparing To Battle More Grass Fires

It's been a busy last several days for many Green Country fire departments as they've battled wildfires. Fire departments are staying ready as the fire danger remains high, after several fires burned form Mannford, north to Pawhuska.

Fire crews say they haven't seen a grass fire season like this in about five years. They say the low humidity and high winds are a recipe for fires.

"It's been pretty hectic,” said Chief Coby Surriette with the Hominy Fire Department. “We've been pretty fortunate in Hominy to not get too much fire in and around town. Our main concerns have been helping the other fire departments around our town."

The Hominy Fire Department was one of many departments that jumped in to help Cleveland Fire last Friday and through the weekend. A fire Friday afternoon forced firefighters to shut down the highway and evacuate a nearby Walmart.

"It was pretty challenging. That area is rocky and hilly. It is hard to get vehicles up in there. We did have to shut down the highway for a time. We evacuated two neighborhoods up on top of the hill,” said Chief Ryan Murray with the Cleveland Fire Department.

Chief Murray says thankfully no homes were burned. He says his crews worked till about 3 a.m. Saturday, then spent the rest of the weekend putting out hot spots.

Pawhuska Fire crews say more than 100 acres burned within city limits and right around the city over the weekend.

"Honestly we are getting ready for more fires. With the humidity and the winds,” said Pawhuska Chief Matthew Tumleson.

All three chiefs say their communities have been very supportive while their teams work around the clock.

"The community was awesome. They donated water, Gatorade, Simple Simon's made a bunch of pizza and our city paid for it. The city stepped up and citizens stepped up,” said Tumleson.

Now its just a waiting game, and hoping for the best.

"We don't really take any special precautions for these types of days, We're already ready. There's not a whole lot we can do to extra prepare for those,” said Surriette.

The departments are expecting these conditions to stay the same through the end of the week.