‘Worse than we anticipated’: Silver City firefighters reflect on long hours and destruction left behind

Firefighters across Oklahoma are exhausted after putting in so many long hours.

It's physically demanding but also can take an emotional toll seeing so many homes lost.

The chief of the Silver City Volunteer Fire Department in Creek County says crews were still putting out some fires a week later.

The last couple of days seem like a blur for Silver City Fire Chief Brett Whitten.

It was worse than what we anticipated,” he said. “We tried to prepare for everything we could, but unfortunately, it got a lot worse than we thought.”

The department, made up of volunteers, was one of the first to arrive at the Creek County wildfire. Whitten says the fight felt unstoppable from the moment they got there.

“The winds were more like out of a thunderstorm,” he said. “We're out fighting fires, so we have smoke rolling over our heads, flames rolling over our heads, we had debris going over our heads and that's not something we typically deal with."

Firefighters moved into Mannford to try to save the town from the flames. Some homes were lost but many others were saved.      

"It hurts—you don't ever want to see one home lost, but the way the fire was coming into town when I was there—I was one of the first few trucks in town. I've never seen a fire come out of the south like that towards a town," said Whitten.

He says he is proud of the volunteers who took off from their jobs to fight the fires. He feels the appreciation from everyone—even from those who lost everything.

“People standing on their porch thanking us—their burned-up porch—thanking us for doing what we do, and they lost everything, they're sitting there,” he said. “It kills me. They thank us as we're driving by, waving at us as they lost everything and they still thank us for it—yeah, it's emotional.”

While firefighters try to help where they can, there are ways to help them, too.

The supply closet at the Silver City firehouse is full of water, Gatorade and snacks, but the chief says those supplies will go quickly. They are welcoming more donations, especially with the summer heat coming up.