Residents Warned Against Outdoor Burning

Fire destroyed two commercial chicken houses over the weekend.

Sequoyah County officials are urgently warning residents not to burn anything outdoors until the area receives more rain.

Every fire department in the county responded to fire calls over the weekend, Steve Rutherford, the county’s director of Emergency Management, said Monday. According to David Slaughter, who manages the county’s 911 center, the center received a whopping 487 calls over the weekend. The calls included 26 grass fires and 12 structure fires, he said Monday. Emergency crews had to respond to some fire calls more than once, Slaughter noted.

The dry and windy conditions are expected to continue at least until the end of the week, Rutherford said. The county is not under an official burn ban but the situation is “terrible,” he said.

Rutherford said a home in the Short community was completely destroyed by fire, along with an outbuilding and a car. Four fire departments responded to that blaze, which left no one injured. Another home was damaged by fire in Vian on Saturday, Rutherford said.

Fire departments from Marble City, Brushy, Rocky Point and Sallisaw responded to a fire that destroyed two chicken houses, Brushy Fire Chief Bobby Caughman, said Monday. Damage estimates were unavailable Monday. Caughman said the cause of the fire is undetermined, but explosions were reportedly heard shortly before the blaze.

Laura Brown, KXMX Staff Writer

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