Powerful winds fuel massive Oklahoma fires, smoke drifts toward Texas video

Warm, dry and windy conditions across Oklahoma have fueled multiple wildfires, prompting authorities to urge nearly one-third of residents in the small city of Woodward to evacuate.

Matt Lehenbauer, the city’s emergency management director, said about 4,000 of Woodward’s nearly 12,000 residents were advised to leave their homes, as per US media.

The evacuation remains voluntary, he noted, as Oklahoma law does not allow mandatory evacuation orders.

The wildfire threatening Woodward, located roughly 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, is approaching what officials described as a “worst-case scenario,” though flames had not yet reached the city’s most densely populated areas.

Meanwhile, a separate blaze in Beaver County, at the base of the Oklahoma Panhandle about 217 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, has burned an estimated 15,000 acres, according to Oklahoma Forestry Services. Video released by the agency showed farmland engulfed by advancing flames and thick smoke moving across the landscape like a storm front.

Governor Kevin Stitt said the Beaver County fire continues to spread, with wind gusts exceeding 65 mph. He added that he was receiving updates at the State Emergency Operations Centre, which is monitoring several major fires, including another burning in Texas County.

Officials said the fires have been fueled by unusually warm temperatures — forecast by the National Weather Service to reach up to 25 degrees above seasonal averages — combined with strong southwest winds topping 60 mph.

Authorities said it was not immediately clear whether anyone had been injured or whether buildings had been destroyed. The Beaver County fire also crossed into Kansas on February 17, where firefighting efforts are currently focused near the city of Englewood, according to the Kansas Forest Service.

By Tamilla Hasanova