Wildfires Blaze Across Northeast Oklahoma

While we paused to honor the sacrifices of so many men and women in uniform this Veterans Day, another group of heroes put themselves in harm’s way.

Firefighters battled flames that were swept across Green Country by powerful winds. No one was injured, but Osage SkyNews 6 HD flew over a Nowata County building that burned.

Lines of fire raced into the night in Lenapah as flames spread up to 100 feet per minute and spanned more than four miles in length, at times.

11/11/2015 Related Story: County Commissioner Declares Emergency In Nowata County

All throughout the day, firefighters went from house to house putting protective and defensive perimeters around every building as fires moved rapidly with winds as high as 50 miles per hour, making it hard to keep up with the flames.

The fires were in more than just Nowata County. Crews in Osage and Washington counties also worked throughout the day to put out flames.

A pile of timbers caught fire east of Bartlesville and put out thick black smoke. Nearby, fires burned right up to the foundations and fences of at least a dozen homes.

11/11/2015 Related Story: Wildfires Rage Across Oklahoma In Strong Winds

As fast as firefighters moved, winds kept whipping up to 50 miles per hour and fueled the flames.

Firefighters are asking everyone to remember how the wind can carry the flames, especially if you're using an open flame outside.

"No matter where the firefighters are setting up some barriers to try to stop the fire, the fire is jumping the roads," Osage SkyNews 6 HD pilot Will Kavanagh said.

Horses ran and cattle huddled together and found a single patch of green in the midst of burning pasture.

Kavanagh said, "Firefighters, they're struggling just to protect people's homes, but, you can see, it's not just people's homes, you can see cattle found the only spot that wouldn't burn."

More than 300 bales of hay burned west of Highway 75 in Ramona and farmers’ crops were scorched.

Crews in Washington, Wagoner, Creek, Mayes, Osage and Nowata counties used all their resources to put out the fires; a task that became more difficult as darkness cloaked the smoke.

Between Broken Arrow and Coweta, about 100 acres burned. The fire started near several homes and neighborhoods at 101st S and 225th East Avenue.

Nine different fire departments helped put out the flames with 22 fire trucks.

Firefighters said the wind made fighting the fire even more challenging, but the fire was put out quickly enough that no homes or barns were damaged and there were no injuries.