Fast-moving wildfire sparks evacuations in Woodward, Oklahoma

A fast-moving wildfire has led to evacuations in Woodward, Oklahoma, as strong winds push flames through parts of the city, according to local officials and media reports.

Evacuation orders were issued Tuesday afternoon for neighborhoods south of Oklahoma Avenue and west of 13th Street, with additional areas south of Oklahoma Avenue and west of 22nd Street also told to leave, according to the Woodward Police Department.

The police department later said that due to flare-ups, no evacuated areas have been cleared for re-entry.

KWTV reported that wind gusts near 60 mph were fueling the fire in red cedar-filled neighborhoods.

Woodward emergency management director Matt Lehenbauer told KWTV that the evacuation area included neighborhoods south of U.S. Highway 412 and west of 13th Street, and that nursing homes in that zone had been evacuated.

“The entire city is not being evacuated,” Lehenbauer said. “Only the southwest part.”

Footage showed at least one structure on fire and multiple power poles down. It is not yet clear how many homes have been damaged or destroyed, and injuries have not been confirmed.

Earlier in the day, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Norman warned of near-critical to critical fire danger across western Oklahoma, citing very dry air and wind gusts of 40 to 55 mph. At one point, the entire town of Woodward was under a fire warning as conditions deteriorated.