Washington County wildfires raise water supply concerns

5 April 2023

USA – Wildfires in Washington County over the weekend have raised some concerns about water supply levels in the county and Tulsa’s ability to tackle something like it.

“This was probably one of the worst I’ve ever seen here,” said Washington County Emergency Management Deputy Director Melissa Mayes when asked about the event.

Mayes said an initial survey has seen thousands of acres burned across the county and eight homes destroyed.

Washington County Commissioners have also issued a burn ban that’s in effect for the next 14 days.

The Bartlesville Fire Department posted a lengthy update on its Facebook page Monday adding that at least 6,000 acres were burned in the past three days; and that the terrain and high winds had made fighting the flames very difficult.

Including the Bartlesville Fire Department, a total of 10 local fire departments, strike teams, forestry departments, and others assisted.

The department said it also received support from the city’s police department, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and ODOT.

Mayes and the fire department said that while the initial number of homes that were destroyed is heartbreaking to survey, it’s a number that could easily continue to climb.

“That number could still go up,” said Mayes. “As word gets out that we’re working on, and of course, whenever you fly drones over you really, some of these areas, you really can’t tell that there had been a house there.”

Mayes said that in addition to all of the challenges faced by crews dealing with the fires and monitoring the hot spots left over the amount of water used to contain the flames is a concern.

“I couldn’t even begin to put a number on how much water was used,” said Mayes.

NewsChannel 8 also spoke with Washington County Fire Chief Kary Cox Saturday who shared his concerns.

“We’re in a drought situation. Water supplies are critical as well for the city of Bartlesville,” said Cox.

The Bartlesville City Council is set to meet Monday at 5:30 p.m. to discuss potential water conservation efforts in light of that drought.

NewsChannel 8 reached out to the city Monday for comment on if the fires had made potential conservation over the last few days any more difficult.

The Bartlesville Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen told a spokesperson that the fires did impact the city’s water supply a little, but not a tremendous amount.

Lauritsen said Friday’s usage was 4.55 million gallons per day, Saturday was 5.57 MGD and Sunday was 4.14 MGD. That’s in comparison to the 4.2 MGD to 4.4 MGD range the city said it’s been averaging for the last few weeks.

NewsChannel 8 also spoke with Tulsa Fire Chief Michael Baker Monday to find out if a similar event could have a big impact on Tulsans.

“The municipal water supply provides us with the fire suppression water required inside the city,” said Baker. “We don’t have large acres of wildfire here.”

Mayes said that regardless of how safe some counties may seem, it’s still better for all Oklahoma agencies to be safe rather than sorry.

“[The fires are] so unpredictable, and everyone is different,” said Mayes. “Every fire is different. The conditions are different, the terrain is different.”

5. April 2023/by GFMCadmin