Experts predict rapid fire spread in Oklahoma due to wind and dry grass

The National Weather Service says it has been 20 years since the forecast has been so favorable for fast-spreading fires.

While it has been this dry before, and as windy as it will be on Friday, such conditions rarely occur after a drought when there is plenty of fuel for a fire.

Whether it's short, dry grass or forestland and pasture after a drought, all pose a danger when conditions come together as they will on Friday.

“We don’t see these conditions come along all too often, maybe once every 10 or 15 years,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Steve Cobb.

The forecast shows unusually strong winds across Oklahoma, especially in western Oklahoma. This could make it harder to stop a fire across open land, and Cobb believes the wind could also be the reason a fire starts.

“With wind this strong, it has the potential to arc or bring down power lines, doing things you wouldn’t expect to initiate a fire,” he said.

In Broken Arrow, the fire department will have 10 extra firefighters and five brush trucks ready to respond, in addition to regular staffing. The department is concerned about areas, even in urban neighborhoods, where a house fire could spread to woodlands or a wildfire could blow into a neighborhood.

“We have quite a bit of residential mixed into pasture areas and open grass spaces, and we have an even harder time getting ahead if the fire gets into those areas tomorrow,” said Captain Will Doggett.

The NWS calculates a fire spread rate tomorrow of 225 to 440 feet per minute.

“You start a fire in the grass, and they expect it to spread that many feet per minute, that fast with the wind,” Doggett said. “It’s extremely hard to contain that kind of spread rate.”

Firefighting aircraft are on standby for tomorrow, but with the wind, they may not be able to operate.

The Weather Service says the wind will start in the morning and build throughout the day, and the meteorologist doesn’t believe the danger will pass until tomorrow night.

The state forestry service is asking drone pilots to stay away from any wildfires that do start because they could interfere with air and ground operations.