Multiple agencies help put out large wildfire near Kansas-Oklahoma state line

CHILOCCO, Okla. (KSNW) – Many wildfires scorched the nation this week, burning thousands of acres, homes, and livestock.

In the video above, KSN’s Zena Taher is seen standing on the Kansas-Oklahoma state line right in front of where a large wildfire triggered emergency evacuations Tuesday afternoon. This was in the tribal territory in Oklahoma, but nearby is state-owned land and across the road is Kansas.

The burned patch seen in the video is part of a larger area that was in flames. Multiple agencies from across states and municipalities had to work together to put out the fire.

Firefighters in Oklahoma had already crossed state lines to Kansas earlier in the day to help the Arkansas City Fire Department put out large grass fires (one after the other) that required collaboration between their firefighters.

An incident this close to different territories and jurisdictions requires a response from multiple governments.

One Ponca City fire official who was walking through the area says that he isn’t surprised that this fire happened even though it was a big one.

Kay County Emergency Manager Daniel Hesson says wildfires have amped up the past two or three years. He says it comes down to drought. Dry conditions are prompting the county to look for more effective ways to respond to brush fires.

He says that Tuesday held many firsts for the county, including the first time they had a wildland automatic response or “War Day.”

“We knew we were gonna be in a critical fire danger day, so we consolidated our resources early and deployed them quickly and promptly to every fire call we had in the county yesterday,” said Hesson.

Basically, the county is split into four quadrants, each with multiple fire departments. Instead of following tradition and having each fire department only respond to the calls in their area and wait to get on the scene before calling in reinforcements.

If there’s a fire in a specific quadrant, every fire department in that area will respond.

Tune into KSN News at 6 p.m. for continuing coverage with Zena Taher.