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Very
little fire growth occurred yesterday on the large Anderson Creek fire near
Alva, Oklahoma. Exceptional firefighting combined with lighter winds and cooler
temperatures contributed to gaining some ground on suppression of the fire. Oklahoma
Forestry Services officials report 10% containment
on the Oklahoma portion of the fire. Kansas Forest Service reports 15% containment
in the Barber County
portion of the blaze. Acreage estimates remain at 397,420 acres for the entire
blaze in Oklahoma and Kansas.

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???We
concentrated our firefighters in areas with the highest potential for fire
movement,??? said Drew Daily, incident commander with Oklahoma Forestry Services.
???The coordinated efforts of OFS, Woods County equipment and firefighters, county
wildland task forces and Oklahoma National Guard helicopters are to be
commended for the excellent work that was done on the fire yesterday.???

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Several
structures and communities are threatened by the large blaze, with several
structures reported as lost. Oklahoma Emergency Management damage assessments
are on-going.

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A
Red Flag Warning is in effect for a large portion of western Oklahoma today, with very
high to extreme fire danger existing today west of a
line from Osage County to Jefferson County. Low relative humidity with 30-40
mph wind gusts possible means that any on-going or new fire starts have the
potential to burn with extreme rates of spread and erratic fire behavior.

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Citizens
are reminded to be very careful with any outdoor activity that might spark a
blaze. Simple things like welding, grinding and charcoal grilling can ignite a
fire in these conditions.

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Oklahoma
Forestry Services is the state's lead agency related to wildland fire
prevention, protection and use. For additional information about wildfires,
visit www.forestry.ok.gov/wildfire-information.

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