Firefighters Monitor Hotspots After Grass Fire Near Sapulpa

Firefighters on Sunday battled hotspots after a wildfire that burned more than 40 acres between 91st Street South and West 86th Street South between Sand Springs and Sapulpa.

Sunday, January 18th 2015, 11:43 pm

By: News On 6

Firefighters Monitor Hotspots After Grass Fire Near Sapulpa

Firefighters on Sunday battled hotspots after a wildfire that burned more than 40 acres between 91st Street South and West 86th Street South between Sand Springs and Sapulpa.

People who live there said it was a scary situation, and scorch marks are just steps away from one home.

"My son, my friend was out here, well, we were watching it [and] dragging our hoses out and everything because if it got close to our property we would try to do something,” Linda Matthews said.

1/18/2015 Related Story: Crews Battle Grass Fire Between Sand Springs, Sapulpa

Matthews has lived on 91st Street in Sapulpa for more than 15 years, and she said the grass fire was a little too close for comfort.

"I had to close the windows and everything and use the fans in there to keep the smoke out because we were breathing it,” she said. “It was right there."

Firefighters said it may have started when a prescribed burn got out of control Saturday afternoon because of high winds.

"The wind conditions, we've got a lot of dry vegetation, and a lot of times people think because we had some snow or ice and a lot of moisture recently that that takes the fire danger away,” battalion chief D.J. Keizor said. “That's not true, the vegetation on top is still as dry as it was before."

1/18/2015 Related Story: Washington County Fire Burns 4,000 Acres

Firefighters spent about 8 hours Saturday containing the flames over the 40 acres of brush and grass, keeping it away from nearby homes.

They now are encouraging neighbors to watch for hot spots.

“If you see smoke that wasn't there and hour ago or so, please call back and we'll respond out and see what's going on," Keizor said.

It's advice Matthews is taking to heart.

“My husband passed away and I own this; it's all I have, so I'm trying to protect it,” she said.

Firefighters encourage people to pay attention to wind conditions before burning outdoors and always check your city and county laws for outdoor burning.