Stillwater Recovering from Devastating Wildfire

The City of Stillwater is in recovery mode after experiencing the worst fire conditions in its history on March 14, with 98 homes destroyed and 123 others impacted by a devastating wildfire.

"I am proud to say that no lives were lost during this disaster. No serious injuries were reported," Stillwater Fire Chief Terry Essary tells the Stillwater City Council. "We did have five firefighters that were treated and released very quickly after being treated and they're back to full duty."

The Stillwater Fire Department received approximately 300 calls for service in a 12-hour period from noon to midnight on March 14, equivalent to what they would normally encounter in a 30-day period.

"We normally have approximately 10 large structure fires a year. And on March 14th we were challenged with the volume that would normally occur over the course of more than eight years," Essary said.

Emergency Management Director Rob Hill explains that the fire occurred during extreme weather conditions, with relative humidity at 12 percent and winds out of the southwest at 31 mph with gusts of 46 mph at 4:20 p.m.

"Wind gusts from around the state of Oklahoma... Frederick was 83 all the way to Stillwater at 69 miles per hour. In addition with sustained winds at 55," Hill said.

The fire burned 26,301 acres from McElroy to 80th Avenue and from Highway 86 to Western Avenue. The areas most impacted include Pecan Hill, Hidden Oaks, Nottingham and the Crosswinds edition.

Lake Carl Blackwell was also heavily affected, with 74 campers lost at Fox Run, Stewart Boat Club, Blackjack Cove and Deere Run.

Electric Utility Director Loren Smith reports that the city experienced a partial transmission loop outage due to high winds, which de-energized three of the city's six distribution substations affecting approximately 10,832 customers. Most customers were restored within five minutes, with all possible restorations completed by 12:27 a.m. Saturday morning.

"Distribution crews worked throughout the weekend changing out poles and repairing damaged infrastructure and that work continues this week," Smith said. "Distribution infrastructure that was replaced: 17 poles, three by fire, 14 by wind, damaged five transformers, 20 pedestals and replaced 1,900 feet of underground wire."

Development Services Director David Barth says his department is ready to work with homeowners on demolition and rebuilding their homes.

"Last Monday, our department worked quickly to streamline a process for three steps to demolish a structure that was affected by this fire," Barth said. "Our staff continues to look for challenges that are presented in our city code so that when we permit and provide other services for reconstruction that this can be as smooth as possible for those property owners."

The city has established a webpage at stillwaterok.gov/wildfires with resources for those affected.

Deputy City Manager Christy Driscoll praises city employees for their response to the disaster.

"There are some things that we can't put numbers to. Dedication, professionalism, determination and flat out true grit. We saw all of this and more and continue to do so," Driscoll said.

The city's police dispatch center logged 354 calls for service on Friday, with 1,277 calls made or received through the dispatch center during the peak of activity. This included over 366 wireless 911 calls, none of which went unanswered.

Vice Mayor Amy Dzialowski reports that the community has responded with overwhelming support for those affected by the fire.

"Our immediate community needs are being met through a distribution of supplies at the Armory, the Red Cross at Payne County Expo Shelter, the helping agencies represented at the Multi Agency Resource Centre ... on Saturday in our local community network," Dzialowski said.

The Stillwater Armory has had approximately 200 visits from those impacted by the fire. The Red Cross shelter at the Payne County Expo Center closed as of 4 p.m. on March 24, with all residents working with shelter resident transition specialists to find their next living options.

The Stillwater Armory remains open for distribution of essentials to those impacted by the fires from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and Wednesday evening from 4 to 6 p.m.

As families transition into more long-term housing options, their needs are changing from food and personal care products to specific items like new pillows and pillowcases, iPhone chargers and phone charging blocks, gallon-sized Ziploc bags, canned meat, ramen noodles, plastic tubs and gift cards.

A message from Visit Stillwater

Visit Stillwater has launched a dedicated Stillwater Strong, Relief landing page to centralize information and promote ongoing efforts supporting residents and first responders impacted by recent wildfires. This resource highlights upcoming fundraisers, benefit events, donation drives, and available services for those impacted by the wildfires.

The United Way of Payne County has established a separate fund to collect monetary donations at unitedwaypanecounty.org. The money collected will be used for unmet needs for individuals impacted by the Payne County wildfires.

"After speaking with other communities and state agencies that have supported disaster recovery, the United Way of Payne county and relief organizers are developing a disaster allocation committee to oversee the transparent administration and equitable distribution of these funds," Dzialowski said.

Mayor Will Joyce expresses pride in the community's response to the disaster.

"This is who our community is, right? I mean, it's a giving and caring community. We step up when we need to," Joyce said. "The staff have been exemplary in every possible way. I'm extraordinarily proud to be a leader in this community and see this reflected in who we are."