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Firefighters injured as western Oklahoma wildfire grows to 5,000 acres

Dry, warm conditions fueled large fires across western Oklahoma over the weekend.
Major County Emergency Management
Dry, warm conditions fueled large fires across western Oklahoma over the weekend.

Two firefighters are injured and about 5,000 acres have burned from an out-of-control wildfire near Woodward in the northwestern part of the state.

The 57 Fire is largely uncontained thanks to dry and windy conditions in western Oklahoma. No occupied structures have been lost. Crews have been battling the fire in Woodward, Woods, and Blaine Counties.

The firefighters were volunteers from the Mooreland Volunteer Fire Department. According to a social media post from the department, Jared Brittain and Max Clark were hurt when their truck was overrun by flames while fighting the blaze.

Both were hospitalized. Brittain was severely burned and “will take time and medical treatments to heal,” according to the department.

Some people were evacuated in the Sharon area, but most evacuation orders have since been lifted.

Widespread forecast rain Monday evening into Tuesday is expected to bring some relief to first responders.

Residents who have experienced property damage are asked to report it to the state at damage.ok.gov.

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This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.

Robby grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma and Fayetteville, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Journalism degree. Robby has reported for several newspapers, including The Roanoke Times in southwest Virginia. He reported for StateImpact Oklahoma from 2019 through 2022, focusing on education.
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