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Firefighters injured as western Oklahoma wildfire grows to 5,000 acres

Dry, warm conditions fueled large fires across western Oklahoma over the weekend.
Major County Emergency Management
Dry, warm conditions fueled large fires across western Oklahoma over the weekend.

This story was updated at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 8.

Two firefighters are injured and more than 5,000 acres have burned from an out-of-control wildfire near Woodward in the northwestern part of the state.

The 57 Fire is now 45% contained but is still active thanks to dry and windy conditions in western Oklahoma. No occupied structures have been lost. Crews have been battling the fire in Woodward, Woods, and Blaine Counties.

The firefighters were volunteers from the Mooreland Volunteer Fire Department. According to a social media post from the department, Jared Brittain and Max Clark were hurt when their truck was overrun by flames while fighting the blaze.

Both were hospitalized. Brittain was severely burned and “will take time and medical treatments to heal,” according to the department.

Some people were evacuated in the Sharon area, but most evacuation orders have since been lifted.

Widespread forecasted rain Monday evening into Tuesday is expected to bring some relief to first responders.

Residents who have experienced property damage are asked to report it to the state at damage.ok.gov.


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Robby Korth joined KOSU as its news director in November 2022.
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