Perilous
Times and Climate Change
Raging Oklahoma Wildfire Kills 1, Destroys About 40 Homes
Published August 13, 2011
| Associated Press
TERLTON, Okla.-- Oklahoma officials say a wildfire destroyed
nearly 40 homes, causing up to $20 million in damage. One person
has been found dead.
Dozens of firefighters were needed to fight a blaze that started
Sunday and quickly gained strength. It took two days for crews to
bring the fire under control.
One person was found dead Thursday inside a home that burned.
Frank Edgar of Terlton told KOKI-TV on Friday it was his brother,
81-year-old Hollis Edgar. He says his brother ignored a sheriff's
warnings to evacuate his home because he thought he would be safe.
Frank Edgar says his home was spared but his family's old home
burned. He says embers were flying through the air and everywhere
they touched, flames would follow.
"It felt like a storm from hell or something," said Frank Edgar,
who said his home was spared, but his family's old home was
destroyed. "Embers flying in the air and touching the ground and
everywhere they touched, fire flames would follow them."
Hollis Edgar, 81, ignored a sheriff's warnings to evacuate his
home because he thought he would be safe, Frank Edgar told
KOKI-TV.
"He said I better watch the fire. It was coming our way," Frank
Edgar said.
Justin Sessions sifted through pieces of scrap metal among the
ashes of his neighbors' destroyed home. He told KJRH-TV that he
was devastated.
"It's hard to believe," he said. "I've been here since I was 3
years old and never seen anything like this."
State insurance commissioner John Doak said many homeowners didn't
have coverage because they thought it was too expensive.
The wildfires during this drought-stricken summer may cause
insurance premiums to go up, but it was too soon to tell, Doak
said.
"To replace a $100,000 home, for example, a couple thousand
dollars a year is probably very good to protect your investment,"
Doak told KJRH-TV.