Fire Officials: Ember From Grill Sparked Logan County Grassfire

News9.com

GUTHRIE, Oklahoma -- Fire officials said a grassfire that burned thousands of acres and shut down part of State Highway 105 for over six hours was sparked by an ember from a grill.

State Highway 105 between Peebly and Luther roads in Logan County was closed for over six hours as fire crews fought a massive blaze that spread over four miles long.

In all 18 different fire departments were called in to get the fire knocked down, which burned close to 2,000 acres. The large effort is the reason fire officials say all that's left are hot spots.

SkyNews9 HD got footage of several structures burning including at least two mobile homes and a travel trailer. By Saturday evening, at least 12 structures had been lost, including a few homes. 

Steve Hart is one of the lucky ones. The only thing the grassfire gave him was a scare. Hart spent the better part of his day monitoring the winds. He said it didn't take long for smoke from the fire to fill up the sky.

"It started up here and it was fairly small. I heard the sirens go and bout that time I saw it and it had spread down I'm guessing probably two miles gradually," he said.

Because of the magnitude of the fire, the area was evacuated. Fortunately no injuries were reported.

Military helicopters helped by dumping water on some of the worst spots. Fire officials say an ember from a man's grill ended up sparking the grassfire.

Fire crews were helpless to stop the fire raged out of control for several hours. They couldn't slow it down until additional fire departments were called, some from as far as Norman.

"Once those task force got here, we already got a handle on where we needed to send them. We got them where we needed them and got it shut down," said Guthrie Fire Chief Lester Branch.

Chief Branch hopes because of the massive amount of grassfires across Oklahoma, state officials will institute a state-wide burn ban. Chief Branch said selective burn bans aren't doing enough with conditions as dry as they have been. He warns that not even an expected snow fall will be enough to prevent what happened in Logan County from happening again.

"All the snow will do for us is make the ground muddy. We'll still have fires as soon as the snow melts and we'll get stuck in the muddy ground and the dry grass will continue to burn," Chief Branch said.

A shelter has been set up at the First Christian Church in Guthrie. It's located on the corner of Noble and Broad Street. The Red Cross is there helping those who have been affected by the fire.

Grassfires near Tuttle in Canadian County also surrounded at least two homes and burned a metal barn. Weather conditions called for a high risk of fire danger with gusty south winds.

Highway 105 at Highway 18 was also shut down due to a grassfire. Lincoln County is currently under a burn ban.

A grassfire in Creek County shut down part of Highway 51 at 401st West Avenue for almost one hour.

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten also said state emergency management officials helped secure a water tanker truck for fire crews fighting a blaze in McClain County. The agency also aided in getting other fire departments to help fight a fire in Rogers County.

It is unclear what sparked the other fires.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.