2 Firefighters Injured Near Crescent

The Associated Press

CRESCENT, OK -- Two Deer Creek firefighters were burned Sunday battling a wind-fueled grass fire that scorched an estimated 2,000 acres in Logan County.

One firefighter was released from the hospital early Sunday evening and a second was scheduled to be released later, said Logan County Emergency Management Director David Ball.

The blaze actually began Saturday and rekindled Sunday afternoon as winds shifted.

Saturday's fire destroyed an abandoned farm house and a barn, but Ball said no structures were lost on Sunday.

A Deer Creek Fire Department vehicle also was damaged in the blaze, Ball said.

About 26 separate fire departments in the area responded to the fire, which burned a large swathe about four miles north of Crescent on both sides of Highway 74.

The fire was mostly under control by 7 p.m. Sunday, Ball said. 

"It's slowed way down, and they're doing hot spots right now," he said. "The forestry department will be here tomorrow with some bulldozers around the perimeter. We don't want this one starting back up."

Meanwhile, two separate grass fires that started Saturday and flared up again Sunday afternoon in northwest Oklahoma destroyed about 15,000 acres in Woodward and Harper counties, said Woodward County Emergency Management Director Matt Lehenbauer.

"We didn't lose any structures or have any injuries, fortunately," Lehenbauer said. "Of course, our crews are pretty exhausted after working non-stop for two straight days."

The largest fire near Selman in southeast Harper County scorched about 10,000 acres across rugged canyons that made it difficult for firefighters to battle, Lehenbauer said.

Another blaze north of Mooreland also rekindled on Sunday, and about 5,000 acres were burned over two days, Lehenbauer said.