Five Departments Work Together To Fight Turley Grass Fire

<p>Five fire departments were called to help get a Turley grass fire, that was threatening some homes, under control.</p>

Wednesday, January 28th 2015, 11:08 pm

By: News On 6

Five Departments Work Together To Fight Turley Grass Fire

A huge fire got dangerously close to homes in Turley Wednesday afternoon. The fire was so big that people could see the thick smoke for miles.

In fact, some people found out about the fire as they were driving home because they saw the smoke, followed by the flames.

Five fire departments were called to help get the fire under control.

Turley, an all-volunteer department, was working another brush fire when this one was called in. The biggest concern for it was how close the fire came to nearby homes.

1/28/2015 Related Story: Wildfire Threatens Homes North Of Tulsa Near Turley

Thick clouds of black smoke engulfed the sky just north of Tulsa in Turley.

"We was coming down Highway 75 when we saw it, but you could see it way out toward the traffic circle, way out that way. I told Donnie, ‘That looks pretty close to our place,'" said neighbor John Lewis.

He and his brother work on cars just across the street from the where the fire burned close to 160 acres.

"When we come down the street here it was really a shock because it was that close," Lewis said.

Firefighters from Turley, Tulsa, Black Dog, Limestone and the Oklahoma National Guard worked against high winds as they battled the flames all afternoon.

It was a fight that challenged all five departments that worked together to bring down the flames from burning tires, cars, trash and brush.

Turley Fire Chief, Keith Ross said, "Everything you can think of kind of fire. It was all mixed together. It started in the northwest corner, kind of in a secluded wooded area, and with the wind, quickly escaped."

The fire jumped to other properties and got a little too close for comfort to some homeowners.

"Well we had a water hose out there watering it down as much as we could, putting it out," Lewis said.

It was a personal fire for volunteer crews as well.

"One of my firefighters grandparents live close by and several of my church members live close by, so it's always personal you know, these fires can take your own home," said Ross.

That's something Lewis and firefighters were glad didn't happen.

Firefighters finished putting out hot spots around 6:30 Wednesday evening.

As of right now, Tulsa Fire Captain Stan May said the state fire marshal will help with the investigation into how the fire started.