Tulsa World: 'Hell on Earth' fire scorches Wellston

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'Hell on Earth' fire scorches Wellston

By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
Published: 4/11/2009 2:24 AM
Last Modified: 4/11/2009 3:19 AM

WELLSTON — Firefighter Charles Danker called it a scene of "hell on Earth," his description of a fast-moving wildfire that threatened this Lincoln County community and forced its 900 residents to flee for their lives.

The wildfire, which started around 3 p.m. Thursday and continued through the early morning hours Friday, scorched more than 800 acres and destroyed three mobile homes, along with several outbuildings and barns. The fire briefly rekindled Friday afternoon but was extinguished.

One firefighter suffered second- and third-degree burns when he was caught up in flames along Oklahoma 66 at the southern edge of town. His fire truck was destroyed.

The blaze began several miles to the south and west of town.

Fanned by 45 mph winds, it quickly spread northeast and even jumped across the Turner Turnpike as it raced its way to the outskirts of Wellston.

Heavy smoke drifting across the turnpike, Oklahoma 66 and 102 forced the closure of those roads for a short time.

As the fire reached near Oklahoma 66, which forms the southern border of Wellston, some 80 firefighters from 16 fire departments made a valiant stand against the raging flames.

And for good reason, as a potentially explosive scene was just on the horizon.

Crews feared the worst as the flames made their way toward Oklahoma 66 near Green's Propane company and its large tanks of propane supplies. And up the road to the east, a short hop away, stood a travel center with an array of fuel pumps.

It was near that location where Iowa Nation Volunteer Fire Department Capt. David Milby, 60, of Stillwater, was burned. He was reported to be in stable condition at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City.

Milby and another firefighter were working with the Wellston Fire Department to extinguish a fire when their fire truck became stuck in the mud in a field, said Lt. Gene Big Soldier, of the Iowa Nation Volunteer Fire Department.

"Before they knew it, they looked back, and the fire was coming right at them," Big Soldier said.

Wellston's firefighters said the flames were swirling around Milby, and the high winds lifted up his protective coat, allowing the flames to race up his back and cause his injuries. Milby was quickly treated at the scene before he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Danker, a training officer for the Wellston Volunteer Fire Department, said the wildfire was the worst he's ever seen around the community.

"It was unbelievable," he said, noting that bountiful cedar trees in the area literally exploded into flames.

He said his department first got the call about the fire around 3 p.m. Thursday and in no time nearly 40 fire trucks were pouring into the area. About an hour later, firefighters made the call for the town's residents to evacuate, Danker said.

Danker said residents were already getting very nervous, and many were driving around, looking at the flames approaching the town.

Thick clouds of smoke, enough to block out the sun, wafted over Wellston for hours, raising the anxiety level of its residents, Danker said.

Relieved residents returned to their homes around 8 p.m. Thursday after receiving assurances from firefighters that the wildfire had been blocked from entering town.

About the time residents were evacuating, firefighters received word that the blaze had struck a vital power line feeding Wellston. As a result, the town was virtually left without electricity, and the outage caused the town's water plant to shut down.

Faced with a momentary loss of water supplies, firefighters contacted a neighboring water district and found a working hydrant nearby. They began a furious relay of a half-dozen fire tankers, filling up their tanks with water and racing back to the fire to feed thirsty fire engines.

Danker said the shutdown of the water plant did not hamper firefighting efforts, but was an inconvenience. He said the power outage also shut down the filling stations in town, forcing fire crews to drive east to Chandler, about 10 miles away, to refuel their trucks.

Danker said power was restored to town around 6 p.m. Thursday.

Wellston's residents were not the only ones evacuated during Thursday's wildfires, which had spread across Lincoln County.

Joe Wakefield, the county's emergency management director, said the 200 residents of Sparks, south of Chandler, were evacuated as flames threatened that community. He said a brick home near Sparks was destroyed, along with a nearby mobile home.

Wakefield said the wildfire razed 650 acres.

Elsewhere, he said, wildfires broke out around Stroud, Prague and Kendrick.

World Staff Writer Clifton Adcock contributed to this story

Manny Gamallo 581-8386
manny.gamallo@tulsaworld.com By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment wilson, (4/11/2009 6:26:54 AM) Amazing story. Great work firefighters! Here's wishing a speedy recovery to Capt. Milby.
	Report Comment just passing through, (4/11/2009 4:04:42 PM) When you can no longer stand; stand. Thanks, guys, for standing up to this fire. I hope you never see another day like this, but I know you will not hesitate to act if you do.
	Report Comment missy..........m., town (4/12/2009 1:20:32 AM) Fires fires every where.Its a shame.I know that somebody must be setting these fires are alot of them.Its a shame and if caught I hope they face the punishment they deserve.
	Report Comment CPT Ron, Lawton (4/12/2009 9:42:27 AM) I wonder if most fire plans call for the contingency of no electricity and the water plant shutting down.

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