As we approach early Spring, dangerous fire weather also is associated which is common. “This Friday is no exception and is predicted to be a very critical fire day for the Panhandle”, states Guymon Fire Chief Grant Wadley.
National Weather Service out of Amarillo, Oklahoma Forestry Service, Texas A&M Forestry Service, and the Kansas Forestry Service all predicate extreme fire conditions on Friday which will directly affect the entire Oklahoma Panhandle. Temperatures are expected in the mid 70’s with low humidity levels and southwest winds sustained 25-40mph with gusts possibly greater than 60mph. If a wild land fire occurs the rate of spread in these conditions can be disastrous.
Recently, many recent local fires have been caused by controlled burns escaping the property owners burning other properties and structures. Texas County Fire Chief’s want to express to the public that during these high fire days to limit or not perform any type of control burns. Currently, there is not a Burn Ban in Texas County due to there not being consecutive high fire danger days over a 14-day period. “This means on these individual high fire days we need to treat like as if a Burn Ban is on”, said Chief Wadley.
If a fire should occur, call 911 immediately and giving the exact location is the proper action to take.