Tired firemen now getting aid from afar

More help has arrived to help with the historic wildfires that local, area and state firemen have been battling for a week, and it was none too soon.
A large detachment of 133 personnel from the Southern States Type 1 Incident Management Team arrived Saturday from Florida and was put to work at 6 p.m. Sunday. They brought with them assets the local departments didn’t have, including 13 aircraft and some small bulldozers capable of getting into canyons and other areas larger machines can’t negotiate.
Meanwhile, the fires kept burning Wednesday, destroying more homes, livestock, grasslands and, apparently for the first time, a fire truck. It belonged to the Butler Fire Department and was destroyed when the engine failed and flames overtook it.
Fortunately, the two firefighters inside it were able to get out and into a Custer City truck which carried them to safety. Men from the two trucks had been fighting the Rhea Fire together, and the unity paid off.
The two Butler men, believed to be Josh Lee and Sketchley Baker, sustained minor first-degree burns, which are the least serious kind. Custer City Chief Larry Don Terrell said one of his men, Steven Miller, also sustained a first-degree burn on the right side of his face.
“It was kind of like a sunburn,” he said.
The focus of the fires apparently had shifted to eastern Dewey County by Wednesday, with Seiling the latest community to be hit hard. A spokesman for Sheriff Clay Sander said at late morning the number of homes destroyed was still being toted up but it would be in excess of 50. Vici on the west and Seiling on the east had lost the most houses.
Mike Galloway, Custer County’s emergency management director, appeared Tuesday night before the Clinton City Council trying to find space to park 100 trucks that he thought would be arriving Wednesday. But by that morning things had changed and he was unsure whether Clinton would become a staging area or not. The Pioneer Center in Weatherford at that time was being used as the focus point.
County Commissioner Wade Anders, a former Clinton fire chief, said the Butler firemen and the two from Custer City were very fortunate.
“They were lucky they had their gear on,” he said. “They had their protective clothes on, and it really made a difference.”
That incident occurred in southern Dewey County, apparently not far from where the fires had started last Thursday. Anders said he understood it happened north of State Highway 47 near County Road 2160 going toward Leedey about 2:30 or 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Terrell said his department’s truck sustained minor damage.
“It was mainly cosmetic,” he said. “It melted the taillights, the tag, mirrors and reflective emblems on the passenger side.”
Terrell said his assistant chief, Darrell Hunnicutt, was in the truck with Miller when the two vehicles got in trouble.
“Our truck’s back to the station today,” said Terrell. “If we get called out today by anybody needing help, we’ll for sure get out and help them.
“We really worked hard from Thursday into Monday morning. Then we got short-handed and opted to protect our own town.
“This morning (Wednesday) we went out on a fire on 183 (U.S. Highway 183). Us, Butler and the Forestry Service were there. It was a half mile south of 47 East and 183, along the highway.”
Despite the fires and the burn bans, some people still apparently were not getting the message.
Clinton police reportedly ticketed a motorist they had seen throwing a lighted cigarette out a window at the south edge of their town.
County commissioners Monday morning praised the work of all visiting firemen, pointing out a few who had come from more distant parts of Oklahoma.
Todd Schroeder, public information officer for the federal Incident Management Team, said Wednesday it had taken over management of the firefighting operations. He said it’s working closely with local and state firefighters who’ve been here all along.
Aircraft his unit brought in consists of two air attack planes, four single-engine tankers, four heavy tankers, two heavy helicopters, and one lead plane to direct things. All except the two helicopters are fixed-wing planes.
Those that are capable have been seen at Canton Lake and apparently even at Foss Reservoir scooping up water, when the waves weren’t as high as they’ve been sometimes. Schroeder said some of the craft can even get water from stock ponds.
“Wherever they can find it,” he said.
He also said the aircraft work closely with crews on the ground, using the air attacks to cool off an area so those on the ground can get in and do their work safely.
Unlike what Galloway had been led to believe, the group apparently is using the Pioneer Events Center at Weatherford as its sole staging area. Schroeder said he knew of no plans to use Clinton.
“As of this morning a lot of areas were still burning pretty fiercely,” he said. As of Wednesday morning, he said the official number of acres burnt stood at 261,781. “We think by the end of the day that figure will probably grow considerably,” he said. 
Schroeder said the Southern States group (although dominated by Florida, it includes men from other southern states) is prepared for a 14-day deployment and can stay even longer if necessary. “We stay as long as we’re needed,” he said, adding:
“We were called to manage the fire. We’re managing it, working very closely with those who’ve been here all along.”
Locals of course are hoping for some good rains this weekend, not only to help douse the fires but also for crops and lawns.