A wildfire has consumed over 2,000 acres in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, burning buildings and forcing evacuations. NBCNews.com's Al Stirrett reports.
By NBC News staff and wire services
Wildfires are burning out of control in Oklahoma, destroying homes and shutting down highways in a state that has suffered 18 straight days of 100-plus degree temperatures and persistent drought.
Emergency officials counted 12 different wildfires around the state, with at least 65 homes destroyed in parched areas north and south of Oklahoma City and south of Tulsa.
A state-wide burn ban was issued by Governor Mary Fallin Friday, according to a statement by Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
Fallin, who earlier in the day invoked a statewide ban on outdoor burning after declaring a state of emergency for the state's 77 counties, told Reuters fire conditions may be worse on Saturday.
"The fire danger might be even higher," she said.
No out-of-state help
Oklahoma has contacted neighboring states for help, but they are contending with their own wildfire threats and no out-of-state help is on its way, Fallin said.
"There's fires in Arkansas. There's fires in Kansas and Texas. Everybody else is on high heat alert," she said.
The National Weather Service said there would be "critical fire weather conditions over much of northeast Oklahoma" Saturday in a red flag warning issued early Saturday.
"Any fires will quickly spread out of control and endanger lives and property," the warning said.
Sarah Phipps / AP
A home burns during a large wildfire Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 in Luther, Okla.
Oklahoma joins several states that have been plagued by wildfires this summer, including Colorado, Arkansas and Nebraska. Fires are being fed by a widespread drought.
Nearly two-thirds of the contiguous United States was under some level of drought as of July 31, according to the Drought Monitor, a weekly report compiled by U.S. climate experts.
No deaths were reported in the Oklahoma fires, but Interstate 44, the historic Route 66 and state highways were closed.
Low humidity, strong southerly winds and drought conditions enabled the wildfires to spread quickly across treetops, Michelann Ooten, deputy director of the state's Office of Emergency Management, said.
"It's just a very difficult situation we're facing that's all weather related," Ooten said.
Fire departments appeal for Gatorade
The heat in Oklahoma City, the state capital, has reached historic levels.
On Friday, Oklahoma City tied its all-time record for the highest temperature ever recorded when the thermometer reached 113 Fahrenheit, a mark last recorded in the Dust Bowl days in 1936, according to the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma.
Volunteer fire departments have made a public plea for Gatorade donations to keep their crews hydrated in the scalding conditions.
The emergency management department statement said “as many as 40 structures have been destroyed” by a fire in Mannford, Creek County, while up to 25 had been destroyed by a fire affecting Noble and Slaughterville in Cleveland County.
In Ninnekah, Grady County, “numerous homes have been evacuated,” the statement said.
Other fires were reported in Oklahoma, Lincoln, Logan and Muskogee counties as well as Elk City in Roger Mills County, Ft. Cobb in Caddo County, Geary in Blaine County, Preston in Okmulgee County and Wewoka in Seminole County.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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