Latest on Deadly Plains Wildfires: Large Oklahoma Blaze Torches Nearly 450 Square Miles; Colorado Fire Closes I-70

Western Oklahoma Wildfires Enter Second Week

Conditions will still be dangerous Friday for any existing fires and will cause new fires to spread quickly in parts of Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas.
Grass fires that have exploded in the Plains have burned several homes and forced mandatory evacuations.
Two deaths have been blamed on the aggressive grass fires.

Conditions remain dangerous for wildfires Friday in the Plains, where blazes have killed at least two people in Oklahoma and forced numerous evacuations.

A wildfire in Colorado near Fruita in western Colorado closed a section of I-70. The fire is believed to have been sparked by a campfire on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports.

Firefighters battling large wildfires throughout Oklahoma got a bit of a respite Thursday, the Associated Press reported, thanks to a combination of calmer winds and higher humidity. However, conditions remain extremely dangerous in Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas.

In Arizona, restrictions on campfires and outdoor smoking on state and federally managed public lands take effect Friday, according to the AP, while the National Weather Service rates the fire danger as extremely critical in western New Mexico.

(MORE: Severe Storms Possible in Southern Plains)

For residents in Oklahoma, conditions began to improve Thursday from earlier in the week, when aggressive grass fires destroyed homes in the Sooner State as well as in Colorado amid some of the most extreme fire conditions in years.

Jon Erdman, weather.com senior meteorologist, says a combination of strong winds and low humidity, particularly in the afternoon, will still be dangerous Friday for any existing fires and will cause new fires to spread quickly in parts of Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas.

"However, there is good news," Erdman added. "Rain and thunderstorms will spread over the parched southern Plains Friday into Saturday. At least an inch of rain is expected in parts of south-central Kansas into central Oklahoma. The panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma may see their most significant rain event in six months."

In western Oklahoma, a blaze dubbed the Rhea Fire has burned more than 440 square miles — an area larger than New York City. It has destroyed at least 50 homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate in Dewey County since Thursday, according to fire officials. The conflagration is just 15 percent contained as of Thursday evening.

Authorities said slight improvements in the conditions allowed evacuation orders to be lifted in Dewey County so residents could return home to check on their houses, the sheriff's office told KFOR.com on Wednesday.

A group of fires named the 34 Complex Fire has burned 97 square miles, destroyed several homes in northwestern Oklahoma's Woodward County and forced evacuations, fire officials said. The complex of fires is 60 percent contained.

Two deaths have been blamed on the fires in Oklahoma. According to an incident report, a 61-year-old man died last Thursday in Roger Mills County, a result of injuries sustained in one of the numerous fires that have erupted in the Sooner State.

(PHOTOS: Deadly Plains Wildfires, in Pictures)

The Dewey County Sheriff's Office reported a second fire-related death over the weekend, according to Fox 25 News. The body of a woman who was reported missing Saturday while visiting a residence near Seiling, Oklahoma, during an evacuation was found in a vehicle inside the burn area.

The DCSO says the death is being investigated as a homicide since it's possible that the fire was intentionally set. The cause of death has not yet been determined.

By Tuesday night, some towns in western Oklahoma told residents to not call 911 unless they're reporting a fire, the AP also said. A state of emergency was declared by Gov. Mary Fallin for 52 counties.

At least 23 homes were destroyed by a blaze that started Tuesday between Colorado Springs and Pueblo, El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder told the AP. The fire grew rapidly, torching 64 square miles, but no injuries were reported.

A separate fire near Colorado Springs chased 200 families from their homes and destroyed at least five dwellings and several outbuildings, the AP also reported. It's not believed anyone was hurt by the wind-driven wildfire.

Both fires in Colorado are now contained, reports Inciweb.

In Kansas, the State Emergency Operations Center was activated due to the fire weather conditions, which officials warned were still extreme despite recent rain and snowfall, the AP reported.

As a fire crossed into Kansas from Colorado Tuesday night, some 90 homes were evacuated, the AP also said. By Wednesday morning, the fire had been contained and no injuries were reported, state emergency management spokeswoman Katie Horner told the AP.

As a response to the fires, Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer issued a disaster declaration.

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In this Tuesday, April 17, 2018, heavy smoke billows from burning trees after a wildfire broke out in a farm field along US Highway 183 about 10 miles south of Seiling, Okla. (Jim Beckel/The Oklahoman via AP)

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