Volunteer Fire Departments Spend The Day Fighting Wildfires From Controlled Burns

Several controlled burns on Thursday turned into wildfires due to heavy winds that picked up in the afternoon, and that's when volunteer fire departments sprung into action.

Thursday, March 28th 2024, 10:47 pm

By: Chloe Abbott

OSAGE COUNTY, Okla. -

Thursday was a popular day for people to conduct prescribed burns.

Volunteer firefighters say several of those controlled burns turned into wildfires as heavy winds picked up throughout the afternoon.

One of the controlled burns that got out of control was in Pawhuska.

Blue Starr is a volunteer firefighter for Nehagoney Volunteer Fire Department, he says it's burning season for farmers and ranchers. These controlled burns are to get rid of old grass, so new grass can grow for cattle to eat.

Starr has been a volunteer firefighter for about a year and he says the prescribed burn in Pawhuska that turned into a wildfire was the biggest fire he's fought in his career.

“The fire started way over there so we're coming from the opposite side and use a diesel mix, so we try to drip it down, try to catch it on the backside so they can meet at the same time and burn each other out," Starr said.

Big tankers filled with water and planes were also used to get the wildfire under control.

"We got big trucks, what they do is they have a better spray rate, so they can get better coverage of water on the ground and then the airplanes come around so they can drop off a bunch of fire-retardant fluid on the fire to places we can't reach,” said Starr.

Starr says the fire burned a couple hundred acres and took around two hours to get it under control.

Sixteen other departments helped bring this fire under control, including some from out of state.

"With the winds, they play a big role with the fires so they can get under it, and they can get about 40 feet in the air, big flames, so that's what our job is to do is to try and get it under control,” said Starr.

People must have a permit to burn, and when they do, they can call their volunteer fire department to help monitor and keep it under control.

"Everyone is on duty making sure that the fire doesn't get on someone else's landed or the wind doesn't catch and take it farther than where it's supposed to begin or end,” said Starr.