Firefighters Still Chasing Hot Spots In Pawnee County

Firefighters from departments all over Pawnee and Creek Counties are a day and a half into the battle.

They're tired, but they haven't stopped.

"I couldn't ask for a better group of guys," North 48 Fire Department Chief Thomas Taylor said.

The North 48 Fire Department and other small volunteer departments worked through the night to first stop a fast moving wildfire, and now are chasing down new fires. The original fire is estimated to have burned about 6,000 acres, county officials say.

"It's been exhausting," Taylor said. "We haven't had time to rest. Most of these guys haven't been home at all, and we're still trying to get it contained. We've got this west flank that's been a headache for us and the terrain is really, really rough."

One firefighter providing mutual aid wore a GoPro camera into the fire, which gave a rare look into the intensity of the conditions these local heroes have been facing.

WATCH: Firefighter Cam Gives Peek Into Belly Of Pawnee County Wildfire

Two homes we saw from Osage SkyNews6 were burned in the hills just between Terlton and Keystone Lake. Another house was one of the more substantial buildings that burned. Firefighters said several barns and some oilfield equipment burned, most all of it south of U.S. Highway 412.

On Friday, several fire departments have been running up and down the highways and down backroads to check plumes of smoke. We were near a wooded area off Benight Road this afternoon when firefighters had to battle an active fire.

"I've got six homes confirmed burned, and we do have a couple of families displaced and we had to evacuate close to 100 homes yesterday," Pawnee County Emergency Management said.

Randell was one of the people spotting fires all day and calling in help. They have to check out what's burning to see if it's going to be a new threat.

"We're kind of chasing columns of smoke to find out if they're in the black or in unburned areas," he said.

When they find something, firefighters rush in to put it out and figure they'll be at it late into the night.

 

2/19/2016 Related Story: Large Pawnee County Grass Fires Cause Evacuations, Shut Down Highways

2/18/2016 Related Video: Airplane Scoops Water From Arkansas River To Fight Wildfires

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