Published April 08, 2016
The Latest on wildfires in Oklahoma (all times local):
6:15 p.m.
Firefighters are assessing damage as they work to contain a wildfire that has burned nearly 90 square miles in northwest Oklahoma.
Woodward Fire Department Chief Steve Day said Thursday that firefighters are battling fatigue after local departments that are barely free from suppressing last month's large wildfire in Oklahoma and Kansas work day and night to control this week's fire in Woodward County.
Day says no towns or cities were threatened Thursday afternoon, although oil and agriculture infrastructure were at risk.
It's still unclear how many structures have been destroyed by the blaze.
The Woodward County fire is the largest active fire that Oklahoma Forestry Services is monitoring.
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9:30 a.m.
Firefighters continue to battle a large wildfire that has burned nearly 90 square miles of mostly rangeland in northwestern Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says conditions are more favorable Thursday for firefighters to contain the blaze, which began Tuesday when gusting winds caused power lines to arc into dry grass.
Anderson says windy, dry weather Wednesday made it difficult for firefighters to establish containment lines for the blaze, located about 170 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The winds also made it too dangerous for teams to assess how many structures have been lost in the blaze, and those assessments will continue Thursday.
Anderson says that aerial assessments showed that the fire was 20 percent contained as of Thursday morning.
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8:15 a.m.
Firefighters continue to battle a large wildfire that has burned more than 80 square miles of mostly rangeland in northwestern Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says conditions are more favorable Thursday for firefighters to contain the blaze, which began Tuesday when gusting winds caused power lines to arc into dry grass.
Anderson says windy, dry weather Wednesday made it difficult for firefighters to establish containment lines for the blaze, located about 170 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The winds also made it too dangerous for teams to assess how many structures have been lost in the blaze, and those assessments will continue Thursday.
The fire was 10 percent contained as of Wednesday night. An aerial team is assessing the blaze Thursday morning to determine its size and containment.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/the-latest-fatigued-firefighters-assess-damage-in-oklahoma