Seiling Residents Help As Firefighters Battle NW OK Wildfires

The Rhea fire has burned 283,000 acres so far and part of that is in Seiling in Dewey County.

News 9's Chris Gilmore visited the area earlier this week and found a community coming together to fight the fire and protect their property.

They weren't alone. The U.S. Department of Forestry was on hand as well as fire departments from all over the country.

When one of Seiling's fire tankers was damaged earlier this month in a wreck, Oklahoma volunteers stepped up get it fixed.

One of them is Josh Nauss, a lifelong Seiling resident who stayed back to help his neighbors.

He spent long hours to help repair the tanker only to learn he wasn't allowed to go home due to the approaching fire. Still, he made things work.

Chris followed up with the fire department and the damaged tanker has been repaired.