Midwest City fire marshal: 'We can’t find anything accidental'

MIDWEST CITY — Investigators said a wildfire that destroyed nearly 70 homes in Choctaw and Midwest City started in a field north of a wrecker service near SE 29 and Post Road.

The cause of the fire is not known.

“We don’t know if there was intent, but we’re 100 percent confident this is people-set,” said Midwest City Fire Marshal Jerry Lojka. “We can’t find anything accidental.”

The next phase of the investigation will be to interview people that live in the area, including Parkway Mobile Home Park. The mobile home park is just east of Barnes Wrecker Service.

Investigators don’t believe that wrecker service workers started the fire because there weren’t any employees near the field when the fire started.

“The key factor is that it was a Thursday afternoon and the fire started in close proximity to a junior high and high school. We know that that there is kid traffic back there as a result of the mobile home park that is in very close proximity to where the fire started,” Lojka said. “We know kids have been back there because we have had fires back there before. It just never got this big.”

Still, Lojka said, “We’re not pointing the finger at kids. It could be an adult. It could be anybody at this point in time.”

Lojka has not asked for help from the state fire marshal’s office.

“Only if we don’t have the staff to do it or it’s a jurisdictional thing or if we have fatality. But we won’t hesitate if we really need the help,” Lojka said.