A large wildfire in central Oklahoma was being battled by firefighters through the night and into early Monday, destroying at least six homes and leaving one person dead, the Associated Press reported.
As a charged burn spread out of control through the parched landscape around 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, an estimated 4 to 6 miles of land were destroyed by 9 p.m., Guthrie Fire Department Chief Eric Harlow said.
Aerial television footage shows the fire still burning at daybreak Monday and Harlow said the fire was about 75 percent contained.
About 35 miles north of Oklahoma City, around 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes, according to the fire department. A 56-year-old man, who stayed in his home, was found dead on Sunday night after the blaze passed through that area, Harlow said.
Although six homes were reported to be destroyed, the Guthrie Fire Department said the number of damaged or destroyed homes was expected to rise Monday, according to the AP.
The damage caused by the fire was being assessed by fire department crews by helicopters at daybreak Monday.
Tabitha Diamond, who lives a few miles from Guthrie, told KOCO-TV that she was returning from a music festival in Noble when she saw the flames and sped home. Even though her house got lucky, a nearby trailer home was left destroyed.
"It didn't get close enough, but it got too close," she said.
People affected by the fire were provided with shelter at a church in Guthrie by the American Red Cross, the AP reported.
Several wildfires in Oklahoma were fueled by high winds and dry conditions on Sunday, and those conditions were expected to persist Monday. With winds gusting up to 31 mph, the National Weather Service predicted a high temperature of 100 degrees in Guthrie on Monday.
