Crash On Will Rogers Turnpike Caused Vinita Wildfire

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says a rollover crash started a grass fire near Vinita.

It happened after a traffic stop, for a vehicle with a stolen tag, according to OHP.

A spokesperson for the agency did not have information about what happened to the driver.

The Vinita Fire department led the response to fire and stopped it before it reached several homes in the area and the nearby state prison.

The wreck that started the grass fire was off the right shoulder of the West bound lanes of the Will Rogers turnpike, one mile east of Vinita. The fire quickly spread about a mile to the east and a half mile north. Chief Kevin Huxtable said Vinita and several mutual aid departments responded.

"It goes extremely fast, it can go anywhere form 300-500 feet per minute, so we were lucky today that the grass was short" said Huxtable. The fire spread across a pasture between the turnpike and a county road.

The car involved rolled over and the airbags deployed in the crash. The OHP has not released the name or condition of the driver.

The Fire Chief said he expected the first to be more unmanageable than it was.

"With winds like we're having today, it doesn't take long for a fire to spread and threaten livestock and structures" said Huxtable.