Firefighters in Pittsburg County and statewide remain on high alert as fire weather concerns continue.
Locally, firefighters from all across Pittsburg County worked Monday to control wildfires across the county, including large fires on Two Mile Lane and in the southern part of the county near Blanco.
Firefighters were called back out Tuesday morning for a rekindling of the Two Mile Lane Fire.
According to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management in its latest situation report, the State Emergency Operations Center remains activated due to ongoing wildfire response and recovery efforts.
The office remains contact with emergency managers across the state and coordinating with agencies and organizations including the Oklahoma Forestry Services, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, Oklahoma National Guard, Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Oklahoma Insurance Department, Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security, National Weather Service, Tribal Nations, Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, and others.
DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS ONGOING
Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments teams including the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and local emergency management departments were in Creek, Logan, and Payne counties on Monday. Damage assessments will continue Tuesday in additional counties.
Initial damage assessments were conducted on Saturday and Sunday in advance of the official review with federal partners. By Sunday afternoon, state and local emergency management staff had identified more than 400 homes damaged statewide.
RESIDENTS ASKED TO REPORT DAMAGE
To help identify all areas of damage across the state, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management is asking residents impacted by wildfires and/or straight-line winds to report damages to their property at damage.ok.gov. Reporting damage helps local and state emergency managers better coordinate response and recovery efforts and can help connect residents to resources. Residents can report damage to homes, businesses or agriculture through the online survey.
Choctaw Nation tribal members in the area can also report storm damage to the Choctaw Nation’s Disaster Hotline at 1-844-709-6301.
FATALITIES & INJURIES
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has confirmed four fatalities related to the fires or high winds:
1 – Lincoln County
1 – Garfield County
1 – Haskell County
1 – Pawnee County
According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, 200 injuries related to the fires and high winds have been reported by area hospitals.
10 – Burn
15 – Cut/Pierce
37 – Fall
1 – Poisoning
24 – Struck
46 – Transportation Related
67 – Other Fire or Wind Related