Frazzled residents in a part of rural northwestern Oklahoma paralyzed by days of wind-whipped wildfires expressed fear a blaze could overrun their home Wednesday, as firefighters battling the deadly fires there and in Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico found some relief at the promise of easing of dangerous weather conditions.
This April 13, 2018, satellite image released by Copernicus Sentinel Data and Service Information shows smoke from wildfires in Oklahoma. Forecasters on Tuesday, April 17, warned of dangerous, life-threatening wildfire conditions in parts of the Southwest and Southern Plains as firefighters in rural Oklahoma continue battling deadly blazes. (Copernicus Sentinel Data and Service Information via AP)
Hundreds of people across the region have been forced to evacuate their properties, homes have been swallowed by the fires and cattle burned to death as they stood in rivers and streams, presumably seeking respite from the flames. Two people have died and at least 9 injured in the Oklahoma fires.
"We are surviving, tired of the fire, stressing. It's been very devastating," said Denise McDaniel, who with her fiancee was forced to leave their home in Canton, Oklahoma, Tuesday night because of a large fire that started near Leedey. That fire has burned about 442 square miles (1,145 sq. kilometers) and is an estimated 3 percent contained.
"I don't know what words to use to describe what's going on over here," said McDaniel. "Our home is still there, but if the fire reaches the town of Canton, our home won't be there."
U.S. Forest Service spokesman John Nichols, who has been working with firefighters battling a blaze estimated at about 106 square miles (275 sq. kilometers) that started near Woodward, Oklahoma, said he welcomed reports indicating wet weather could be on the way.
"Some rain might be coming in Thursday night. Thursday morning would be better," Nichols said. The Woodward fire is about 45 percent contained.
Officials estimated the fire could be fully contained late Friday, a "target date," Nichols said.
"It's all weather dependent. Will we get the rain on Friday?" according to Nichols.
The target containment date for the larger fire near Leedey is Monday.
On Tuesday, the National Weather Service warned that much of New Mexico, parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas were at an extreme risk of wildfires, due to a heady mix of hot, dry weather and strong winds, in some places gusting up to 80 mph. Temperatures reached 99 degrees (37 Celsius) Tuesday at Woodward, with humidity as low as 4 percent and wind gusts of up to 51 mph (82 kph).
The service relaxed that fire risk warning to critical for much of the region Wednesday.
Fires in Colorado licked Denver suburbs on Tuesday, stretching firefighting resources to their limits and taking out homes. Other fires jumped the state line into Kansas, where they were contained early Wednesday. Homes have been burned or destroyed in Kansas and Oklahoma too, although emergency management officials have been unable to provide exact numbers because the areas affected by wildfires were still too hot to enter. Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin have issued disaster declarations.
In northwestern New Mexico, the milder weather conditions Wednesday should be useful for firefighters who were hindered by strong winds a day earlier but managed to keep wildfires largely in check on a mountain and a butte near Grants. Notices warning area residents to be ready to abandon their homes at a moment's notice have been lifted and an evacuation center in Grants closed.
The fire has killed an undetermined number of cattle in Oklahoma, but Woods County Extension Agent Greg Highfill said the number is at least in the hundreds. Authorities are focusing on the animals that have survived.
"We're kind of in a desperate need for hay to get us through the next couple of weeks," because the fire has also destroyed pastures used to feed the herds, Highfill said.
HONOLULU (AP) — A judge on Friday forced the Hawaii attorney general's office to turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the disaster.
Attorneys representing plaintiffs suing over the August fires filed a motion last month asking a judge to compel the state provide them with the material gathered by the Fire Safety Research Institute, which was hired by the state to investigate.
The state refused, saying disclosing the records would “jeopardize and hinder” the investigation. In court documents opposing the motion, the state called the request “premature, baseless and frivolous,” and asked a judge to order that attorneys fees be paid to the state for defending against the motion.
Soon after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century ripped through the historic town of Lahaina and killed 101 people, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced hiring outside investigators. Last month Lopez and representatives from the Fire Safety Research Institute released a report on the first phase of the investigation, which said the head of the emergency management agency dragged his heels about returning to the island amid the unfolding crisis, while a broad communications breakdown left authorities in the dark and residents without emergency alerts.
During a Friday hearing on the island of Maui, state Deputy Attorney General David Matsumiya told Judge Peter Cahill the state is concerned that releasing information could prompt the six people who haven't been interviewed yet to change their stories.
Cahill balked.
“Do you really believe that's going to be happening?” he asked, clearly upset. “And so what if they change their stories? Aren't they entitled to?”
Cahill seemed to indicate concerns with the investigation, including whether people interviewed were advised that they weren't obligated to answer questions.
“By the way, the taxpayers are paying for this,” the judge continued.
Lopez said last month the investigation contract was initially not to exceed $1.5 million, but because they are behind schedule, the contract was extended. According to an updated contract, the cost increased by $2.5 million, not to exceed a total of $4 million.
The judge's order is of “grave concern,” the attorney general's office said in a statement after the hearing.
“The independent, objective fact-finding process and analysis is critical to determining what county and state agencies must do to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again,” the statement said. “Premature release of these materials may allow external factors to influence the analysis.”
The attorney general is reviewing options and will soon decide on an appropriate course of action.
Cahill told Matsumiya he understands the state's concerns, but not giving the information to the attorneys would delay litigation. The investigation is important, and it was a wise investment to hire an outside agency given the state lacks a fire marshal, he said, “but it's also important that people have their day in court.”
Cahill noted there are some 400 lawsuits involving thousands of plaintiffs.
“It's frustrating the process of litigation,” Cahill said, “which is also a truth-seeking mechanism.”
David Minkin, an attorney representing Maui County, suggested to the judge that the investigative process was tainted.
Investigators “showed up in Lahaina, said we're here from the AG's office and started talking to people,” without informing them of their rights, he said.
Matsumiya said the state is trying to “protect the integrity of the investigation, which is designed to create a better future for Lahaina, and all of those people in Lahaina."
But Cahill responded that “the past in this case, given what's occurred on this island, needs to be take care of as well,” and that litigation will determine whether there were any legal breaches of duty.
During a separate hearing later Friday to discuss coordination of the lawsuits, Cahill said a handful of lawsuits are scheduled to go to trial in November.
FILE - Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez and members of the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) hold a press conference on the Maui Wildfire Phase One Report findings on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Honolulu. A judge on Friday, May 3, 2024, forced the Hawaii attorney general's turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the deadly disaster. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)
FILE - The aftermath of a wildfire is visible in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 17, 2023. A judge on Friday, May 3, 2024, forced the Hawaii attorney general's turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the deadly disaster. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
