Man Escapes Road Grader Before Its Consumed by Fire<br/>As a road grader tries to escape the fiery Oklahoma blaze winds shift as the driver narrowly makes it out before the equipment is engulfed. All the while you can hear the shaken reporter and photographer yelling for the man to get out as the capture the footage.
The wildfire that began yesterday in Woodward County, Oklahoma is now referred to as the 350 Complex Fire according to the Oklahoma Forestry Service. On Tuesday, Authorities said a wildfire was burning out of control near Woodward, Oklahoma and moving rapidly to the northeast. The fire has surrounded a rural chemical plant, concerning emergency management officials. Wind gusts of 40 mph caused power outages in the area yesterday.
The fire started 20 miles south of where the Anderson Creek fire originally started. The Anderson Creek Fire which nearly two weeks ago and spread 400,000 acres making it the largest in Kansas history.
Woods County Emergency Management recommended residents of Freedom to evacuate north on Highway 50 and then east on Highway 64 towards Alva. Businesses and residents in the area from County Road North South 207 to Highway 50 and from East West County Road 21 to East West County Road 32 should evacuate to the west.
A shelter is set up at the Pioneer Room at 1212 9th Street in Woodward.
As of today, Matt Lehanbauer (EMA Director from Woodward, OK)said the fire is still a big concern today as winds are projected to gusts up to 40 mph again and relative humidities very low. Lehanbauer said, while they did make some improvements in an effort to contain the fire last night there is still a lot of progress to be made. As of Wednesday, the fire has grown to 55,000 acres with a 15 mile fire line. A few firefighters reported injured with still some evacautions in place around Freedom, OK. As far as how many homes and/or structures lost, Lehanbauer says they are still assessing the damage.
More: www.WeatherNationTV.com – Video: Val Castor
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