By AAH Jack Quirk
This past week brought a little bit of everything when it comes to Oklahoma weather.
On Tuesday, March 10, a severe thunderstorm passed over Hennessey, dropping hail up to tennis ball size.
Then on Sunday, March 15, temperatures started in the 70s before plunging into the 20s overnight. A strong cold front moved through with wind gusts exceeding 50 mph, reducing visibility on some east-west roads in Kingfisher County due to blowing sand.
The strong winds also helped spark and spread several fires across the county Sunday morning, keeping firefighters from multiple departments busy for much of the day.
The morning began with Hennessey firefighters responding to a grass fire west of town near Highway 51 and NS2770 Road. Within minutes, another call came in for a stubborn silage fire about a mile farther west.
While crews were working those fires, the Ames Fire Department requested mutual aid for a large grass fire east of Ames.
Shortly afterward, another call reported a large grass fire at the intersection of Highway 51 and NS2740 Road. Hennessey firefighters were assisted by departments already headed toward the Ames fire, including Big 4, Dover, Loyal, and Cashion.
Kingfisher County District 2 also responded with a semi water tanker and the county’s former Hennessey tanker truck to supply water to crews battling the flames.
Winds exceeding 50 mph pushed heavy smoke across Highway 51, reducing visibility to near zero in some areas. Because of the smoke, a car collided with a semi-truck, temporarily closing the highway.
The driver of the car was transported by Mercy Regional EMS to an Enid hospital with undisclosed injuries. Authorities have not released the driver’s name. The semi driver was not injured.
Despite the challenging conditions, no structures were reported damaged.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reopened Highway 51 around 2:30 p.m.
Assisting agencies included the Big 4, Dover, Loyal, and Cashion fire departments, along with Kingfisher County Emergency Management, Kingfisher County District 2, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Mercy Regional EMS, and the Kingfisher County Sheriff’s Office.
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