Price not an issue in fighting fires

But Ward 1 Councilman Gary Marrs, who is also the city's former fire chief, said the effort, which involved hundreds of firefighters along with police and public works employees, is a reminder why the city spends roughly two thirds of its budget on public safety.

“If you just look at the employees, it is at least half the public employees, not even taking into account all the equipment and training,” Marrs said. “It's easy to see when you protect a city the size of ours why public safety costs us the way it does.”

On Wednesday alone, 457 firefighters were involved in battling the blaze. Some of those came from departments as far away as Mayes County northeast of Tulsa.

Marrs said even a fire department the size of Oklahoma City's, with about 900 firefighters, can't battle a large wildfire without help.

Mutual protection agreements allow cities to help each other by sending in reinforcements wherever they are needed across the state.

Such considerations are factored into the city's budget, as is overtime pay and maintenance work. Fire operations account for $110 million in the city's annual budget.

Oklahoma City also has a $6 million contingency fund it can tap into when disasters happen.

Fighting a large wildfire also involves more than just the fire department.