Progress made against wildfire in Oklahoma

LONGTOWN, Oklahoma — Emergency crews made progress Tuesday fighting a small but stubborn fire that destroyed at least nine homes in eastern Oklahoma, but they don’t expect it to spread much further.

Residents in Pittsburg and Haskell counties, about 80 miles southeast of Tulsa, appeared to be out of harm’s way now with hot spots in less populated areas. More than 100 people forced to fleet after the fire started Monday were back home Tuesday.

Two evacuees and a firefighter who received minor injuries were treated and released, Pittsburg County Emergency Management Director Kevin Enloe said. Red Cross is assisting those who lost their homes.

More than 250 firefighters worked to tamp down the blaze Monday, with low humidity and high winds working against them. Planes and helicopters were used to dump thousands of gallons of water from nearby Lake Eufaula.

Roger Ross, owner of The Pines bar, said five or six people gathered in his parking lot where they watched flames peeking over treetops through the fire’s haze.

“It got pretty wild for a while,” Ross said. “I’ve never seen so many fire departments. They came from all over.”

Oklahoma Forestry Service spokeswoman Michelle Finch-Walker said the fire has consumed about 1.5 square miles. Firefighters are using streams and roadways as barriers as much as possible, and heavy equipment to scrape up dry plant matter in spots. Cooler weather and higher humidity also kept the fire from spreading as quickly, she said.

Forestry Service calculations put containment at 19 percent.