Fire Danger Today Across Western And Southwest Oklahoma

From the moment you walked out of the house today, you can feel it in the air. The fire danger is extreme across Western and Southwest Oklahoma today.

You're not the only one who noticed how dry it’s been. Very little rain in the last couple of months, warm weather, and every patch of grass across the state is crunchy. Oklahoma is a bundle of kindling right now, just waiting on a spark and a reason.

Today's Extreme Risk

Winds are expected to ramp up, humidity is dropping, and suddenly the entire region is sitting under red flag fire danger conditions. That combination is never good. It makes the smallest flames grow into fast-moving wildfires.

They can literally be sparked by just about anything too. A trailer chain dragging on the road will throw sparks. A brush pile that's simply decomposing will randomly catch fire. Cigarettes flicked out a window. These are normal things most don’t think twice about on a normal day.

It Is Not A Normal Day

Burn bans are already in place with more expected. It's dire enough that advisories include construction, welding, and even farming/ranching when a truck's hot exhaust could potentially touch grass.

Fire departments across Western and Southwest Oklahoma are on edge today for a reason. Once a fire starts in conditions like this, it doesn’t politely stay put. It runs. And out here, it can run a long way before anyone gets a handle on it.