Winds fuel flames, outages
Wind, fire and rain, and even earthquakes, jolted the Oklahoma landscape on Thursday:
Winds fuel flames, outages in state

Pamilea Medley clung to her straw sun hat Thursday as she watched her son's uninsured house in Gotebo go up in flames from a fire. About 75 other people had to evacuate their homes because of the blaze, which destroyed another house and a barn.

No injuries were reported.

"So far, no one has been killed,” said Medley, her backside pelted by dust and dirt from a fierce southerly wind. "Thank God ... You know, life is good. We should count our blessings. I believe something good will come out of this in the end.”

Nick Wooten — Medley's son — watched in frustration.

Wooten had been slowly refurbishing the 100-year-old house for his pregnant wife, Rachel, and their 2-year-old daughter, Estella. In recent months, he installed new plumbing, electricity, a bathroom and a roof. The family was only weeks away from moving into their house.

"The wind is so strong, we never had a chance,” said Wooten, his face blackened by ash and smoke.

Witnesses said the fire began in a pasture just south of Wooten's home about 2 p.m. It was reported by former Gotebo Fire Chief Steven Arganbright.

"He didn't hesitate,” said Connie Davis, an EMT from neighboring Mountain View. "He said send multiple departments. He knew instantly what he was looking at with the winds and all, and began plowing a break line.”

The wind proved too stout.

Within minutes, authorities were running from house to house, evacuating everyone in the fire's potential path. By 4 p.m., the fire appeared to be contained as crews from Gotebo, Rocky, Hobart, Cooperton, Lone Wolf, Saddle Mountain and Sedan filled the small Kiowa County town of 270 residents.

In western Comanche County, firefighters also battled a blaze caused by a downed power line, said Chris Killmer, public information officer for the county. Killmer said officials got the call for the fire about 2:45 p.m. and got it under control by 3:30 p.m. Killmer said nine fire departments worked to put out the blaze which burned about 25 acres aided by gusting winds. No injuries were reported and no homes were evacuated.

"When we got the call we immediately called three other departments,” Killmer said. "That's really what saved us.”

Clinton Sherman Fire Chief Phillip Lile, said the barracks caught fire when the roof was blown off in what appeared to be the result of an electrical problem.

"The town was hit pretty hard,” Lile said.

Strong winds forced tree branches to fall onto electrical lines causing pockets of outages in the Oklahoma City metro area and parts of the state.

At 11 p.m., Oklahoma Gas and Electric reported 14,574 total customers without power, including 11,000 in the Oklahoma City area. Winds actually decreased when the storms moved through Oklahoma City before 10 p.m. and virtually all of the power problems were from earlier winds.

One Oklahoma City resident reported about 9:45 p.m. he had been without power for nearly seven hours.

OG&E spokesman Brian Alford said tree branches, likely weakened by December's ice storms, are breaking under the harsh winds and landing on power lines. Most of the outages are being restored immediately while others may take up to an hour, he said.

Roofs were reported blown off homes in Cherokee, according to the weather service.

Several power poles and trees in the Custer area were snapped or bent by high winds, a trailer being pulled by a car on Interstate 40 in Canadian County was blown over by thunderstorm winds, tree limbs were reported down in Altus, a roof on a small structure was damaged near Dill City, and a roof was blown off a commercial building in Lone Wolf, according to reports to the weather service.

Winds 75 to 80 mph were reported near Butler.

At least four small earthquakes were recorded early Thursday in the Oklahoma City area, the Oklahoma Geological Survey confirmed. The largest quake was recorded shortly before 1:15 a.m.

No injuries or damage were reported, said Oklahoma City police and state Transportation Department officials.

Initial indications showed the largest quake measured 2.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, with its epicenter near the Interstate 44-Interstate 40 junction. However, the exact epicenter could be up to 3 miles away, said Jim Lawson, chief geophysicist with geological survey.

Anyone who experienced a quake is asked to go to www.okgeosurvey1.gov or www.okearthquakes.us and fill out a survey.

A squall line moved across the state Thursday evening, dropping a lot of rain in a short time. The heaviest rainfall was in the northwest and north.

Lahoma received 4.30 inches of rain, Medford received 3.39, and Blackwell and Newkirk got 2.59 and 2.31, respectively.

Mesonet sites in the Oklahoma City area reported about one-fourth inch after the storm.

Contributing: Staff Writers Ron Jackson Julie Bisbee, Ann Kelley, Johnny Johnson, Brian Sargent and John David Sutter

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