Wildfires burned across the Oklahoma Panhandle and in southwestern Kansas on Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting Oklahoma's governor to declare a state of emergency on Wednesday morning.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said he declared an emergency in parts of the Oklahoma Panhandle region due to the fires, while Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly issued a state of disaster emergency earlier this week due to dry and windy weather conditions that could drive wildfires in the state.
"The Woodward fires are about 20 percent contained, and we were very fortunate to keep most neighborhoods safe. A few homes were lost, and we’re keeping four injured firefighters in our prayers as they recover after working tirelessly through the night,” Stitt said in a statement.
“I’m deeply grateful for the incredible efforts of our firefighters and forestry crews on the ground."
His statement added that the town of Tyrone in Beaver County was evacuated for precautionary reasons and that the emergency order was issued for Beaver, Texas, and Woodward counties.
"As we head into today and tomorrow, conditions remain dangerous," he warned. "We need every Oklahoman to stay alert and continue taking fire warnings seriously."
According to the Oklahoma Forestry Services in an update on Wednesday morning, the Ranger Road fire in Beaver County and southwestern Kansas has already burned 145,000 acres in both Oklahoma and Kansas, and is currently zero percent contained.
Kansas fire officials, meanwhile, said in a statement that the Ranger Road Fire is continuing "to burn actively moving east and is located south of" the municipality of Protection, Kansas.
The Stevens Fire, located primarily in Texas County and in southwestern Kansas, has burned 5,500 acres so far and is 25 percent contained, the Oklahoma Forestry Services said. The Side Road Fire, it added, has burned 3,300 acres in Texas County with 25 percent containment, and the 43 Fire has burned 2,200 acres in Woodward County and is 20 percent contained.
The Kansas Forest Service said that the Stevens Fire has burned from Texas County, Oklahoma, into Seward County, Kansas, located southwest of the town of Liberal. As of Tuesday evening, it added, "forward progress is stopped for now and crews are actively working to extinguish hot spots."
Another fire, the Seward CoFire, located to the southeast of Liberal, is now "actively burning," Kansas state officials said.
The Garden City Fire also "continues to burn actively," and the Kansas Forest Service, along with state officials, "are working with local responders on this fire," the post said.
A large section of the western portions of Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, as well as the eastern sections of Colorado and New Mexico, was under a red flag warning or a fire weather watch that was issued by the National Weather Service (NWS), a map updated on Wednesday shows.
A combination of "gusty winds and low relative humidity will bring critical fire weather" to the central and southern High Plains region in the Midwestern United States, the NWS further warned.