Carl's Capitol Comments
'Neighbors raced to help neighbors'
August 3, 2022
You never know what tomorrow will bring nor what changes can be made in a moment of time. Nothing puts that into clearer perspective than the sight of a huge fire approaching your home.
That's what the people in the Mooreland area experienced last week as a massive wildfire burned over 21,000 acres of land in Woodward County. Thankfully, no homes were lost, but barns and other structures as well as miles of fence were burned. Some residents were forced to evacuate.
Still, it was amazing to see how neighbors raced to help neighbors, how community members surrounded each other to help in this time of need. It was also incredible to witness neighboring fire departments and state agencies that stepped in to help.
I want to thank all firefighters, who sacrificed their time, their families, their own properties to rush to help others. I would especially like to thank Mooreland Fire Chief Travis Case for his outstanding leadership and work on this fire. I also want to thank Matt Lehenbauer, our local contact with Oklahoma Emergency Management. He worked tirelessly to help keep the public informed about the fire danger.
Also on the gratitude list is Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur and her public information officer as well as crews with the Oklahoma Forestry Service and Mark Gower with Oklahoma Emergency Management. I'm grateful to Governor Kevin Stitt for accessing resources from other states to help extinguish the fire. The Oklahoma National Guard and the U.S. Forestry Service also helped to contain the fire, and they deserve our thanks as well.
As I wrote this column on July 28, the fire was 20% contained. The National Guard had made around 90 drops, releasing almost 36,000 gallons of water, and the U.S. Forestry Service had made five drops from large air tankers with a total of 15,000 gallons of fire retardant. That helped stop the head of the fire, keeping it off homes and out of Mooreland. Crews continued to work the southwest and west flanks of the fire with county task forces and National Guard aircraft.
Overcast conditions on Thursday with light moisture falling helped, but crews continued to treat hot spots and mop up where needed. The plan was to continue working the west side of the fire. The wonderful rain Friday night doused the remaining fire. The Lord ensured it was out by additional rain Saturday and some Sunday morning
Once the fire is 100% contained, we will be sitting down to assess our actions and to see where any improvement might be needed in the future. Again, I'm so thankful for all who helped in this disaster, and I'm thankful no lives or homes were lost. We will recover from this.
If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me. You may reach me by email at [email protected], or phone me at 405-557-7339. God bless you and the State of Oklahoma.
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