Drone video: Wildfires leave path of devastation across Northeast Oklahoma

Wildfires that swept through several communities in northeast Oklahoma over the weekend left widespread destruction, reducing homes to rubble and devastating entire neighborhoods. While the immediate danger has passed, the full scale of the loss is becoming clear.

Follow our coverage of the wildfires here: Oklahoma Wildfires

Entire Neighborhoods Wiped Out

OsageDrone6 footage captured by News On 6's Emory Bryan revealed the extent of the damage, particularly south of Cleveland, where numerous homes along a single road were lost.

“The wildfire ended up here. It started down towards Terlton, but the wind was blowing it so hard, and as it got up closer to there, just so many homes were lost in this one area right off of Highway 64,” Bryan said.

Further southwest of Cleveland, entire streets were left in ruins, with some losing up to a dozen homes in a row. In many cases, houses were completely destroyed while nearby structures remained untouched.

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Devastation in Mannford

In Mannford, an apartment complex was leveled by the fire, while other buildings nearby remained standing. Several streets, including Birch and Aspen, suffered heavy losses.

“This is not a wildland area. This is not a lot of trees around, short grass, but the fire was raging with such intensity by the time it got there,” Bryan explained. “Even though firefighters were trying to respond, if a house caught, they didn’t have enough manpower to extinguish it.”

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Firefighters Overwhelmed by Fast-Moving Flames

Crews battled multiple fires across the state, with strong winds preventing the use of aerial water drops. Firefighters worked tirelessly to protect as many homes as possible, but the rapid spread of the fire made containment efforts difficult.

“They would go to trying to protect homes around it, did a great job saving so many homes and so much of the rest of the town in the process of just trying to do what they could,” Bryan said.

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A Community in Mourning

While no additional lives were lost beyond initial reports, the damage remains staggering. The affected communities are now faced with the difficult task of recovery as they assess the destruction left behind.

“This was an area that we (News On 6) hadn’t been able to get to really before now,” Bryan said. “The entire landscape, just black and white, hard to tell anything. What’s what, cars, motorcycles, boats, everything was left in place and everything was lost.”

Officials continue to evaluate the damage, and recovery efforts are already underway as residents begin to rebuild their lives in the wake of the disaster.

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