By AAN Staff
An update has been released following Thursday’s large wildfire north of Hitchcock in Blaine County that drew a massive multi-county response and left three firefighters injured.
Fire crews from Blaine, Kingfisher, Major, and Logan counties responded to the fast-moving grass fire, which was first reported around 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of E700 and N2600 Roads, about two miles north of Hitchcock.
Strong winds exceeding 30 mph and temperatures in the 90s created dangerous conditions, allowing the fire to spread quickly and making suppression efforts challenging.
Despite the conditions, multiple homes were successfully protected. Crews from Blaine County, working alongside the Oklahoma Forestry Services, utilized heavy equipment to cut fire breaks while ground crews worked the fire line, assisted by air support.
During operations in rough terrain, three firefighters were injured in the line of duty.
According to reports, two firefighters from Okeene were hurt. One sustained burns and was transported to an Oklahoma City burn center. The second suffered a neck injury while operating in rough terrain.
Ty Gardner, firefighter from Loyal experienced smoke inhalation and was being transported by Pafford EMS when he suffered a heart attack. He was later airlifted to an Oklahoma City hospital by an Air Evac helicopter.
Officials have not yet released the names of the Okeene injured firefighters.
The wildfire burned several miles of land and was large enough to be visible on satellite imagery.
Kingfisher County fire departments assisting included: Hennessey, Omega, Okarche, Dover, Big-4, & Kingfisher County Tanker.
Support agencies, including the American Red Cross, assisted by providing food and supplies for emergency crews, while Pafford EMS helped with on-scene rehabilitation efforts.
Assisting the efforts were Emergency Managers from Kingfisher, Blane, Major and Logan Counties.
The complete list of agencies has not yet been released but will be added to this story when received.
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