Man Fights Wildfire With Garden Hose In Jones

The morning after a wildfire burned parts of a neighborhood, homeowners were out patrolling their properties for hotspots that were popping up.

Friday, March 21st 2014, 5:07 pm

By: News 9


The morning after a wildfire burned parts of a neighborhood, homeowners were out patrolling their properties for hotspots that were popping up. With another high fire danger day, they were not taking any chances that one of the hotspots could ignite another fire in the area.

The neighborhood is located just north of the Turner Turnpike along Spencer Mountain Dr. The fire threatened several homes but luckily only burned a couple of sheds and vegetation. But it came too close for comfort.

"You could feel the heat," said Darrell Gilliam. "It was just all so fast."

Gilliam and some of his neighbors stayed behind as others evacuated the neighborhood. They used garden hoses to wet the ground around his house.

3/20/2014 Related Story: Multiple Wildfires Burn In Central Oklahoma

"It was just crawling across there so fast, and so I started on the fence line wetting it down," recalled Gilliam. "As the line of fire started getting closer I just started hitting it where I could up and down and it actually worked."

Gilliam kept the fire under control long enough for firefighters to douse the flames and eventually gain control over the whole fire, that was fueled by thick vegetation, including red cedar trees.

"We got lucky," he said. "I mean within ten feet, if it had just shifted ten feet more, it would have taken out everything. So that's why I say we were lucky."

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