Fires Raged Out Of Control In Surrounding States

Governor Brad Henry issued an emergency burn ban.  High winds, dry conditions, and ice storm debris are fueling fires across the region.  The News On 6's Joshua Brakhage reports firefighters are struggling to contain wildfires in Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. 

Across the state, a hay barn near Blanchard was reduced to a pile of ash.  And firefighters struggled to stop a burning debris pile near Norman from spreading to nearby homes.

More than a dozen of buildings burned just over the state line at Fort Chaffee, outside Fort Smith Arkansas.  The fire has already burned 100 acres.  Firefighters with bulldozers built fire breaks to keep it from spreading.

The high winds fanned flames across Texas, too.  A grass fire spread for miles, and destroyed several homes outside of Fort Worth.  Firefighters couldn't keep up with the fast-moving flames.  Instead, they stayed behind to put out hotspots.

"People are going down the street throwing lit cigarettes out. I mean that is our biggest problem right now is lit cigarettes," said Volunteer Firefighter Robert Burns.

The smoke was so thick in West Texas and Oklahoma, several highways were shut down.

Homeowners hosed their grass as they watched their neighbors' houses burn.  Fire moving beneath a trampoline melted it straight through.  Barns spared by the wildfires, were torn apart by the wind.

Gusts over 65 miles an hour leveled buildings around Lubbock.  Barns and carports collapsed and trailers were ripped apart.

In downtown Tulsa, a plate glass window fell hundreds of feet and smashed in the parking lot after the wind popped it out of place.

Employees in one Oklahoma City sky rise were sent home when a skylight shattered and fell into the lobby.

The wind flipped a semi off I-40 and sent it rolling down an embankment.