‘It Got Everything’: Oklahoma Residents Who Escaped Fires Brace for Losses
The New York Times
Hundreds of homes and other buildings were destroyed in Oklahoma, as fierce winds and wildfires swept the region.
When Geraldine and Charles Wyrick heard shouts ring out through their community of a dozen trailer homes on Friday afternoon near Wellston, Okla., they knew the fires were near. It was time to get out.
As Ms. Wyrick rushed to her Chevy Tahoe, and Mr. Wyrick to his pickup truck, they noticed that a neighboring family of five did not have a working vehicle. They, too, scrambled into the truck, along with several dogs. In the chaos, there was no time to salvage any personal belongings.
On Saturday, talking at an emergency shelter in Stillwater, Okla., Mr. Wyrick, a 70-year old retired mechanic, said their home and entire neighborhood had likely been destroyed by the fire, alongside many of his prized possessions: a pontoon boat, three trailers and a tractor.
“It got everything,” his wife said.
From the Texas Panhandle to the suburbs of Oklahoma City, residents braced on Saturday to assess the damage after wildfires and smoke forced many to evacuate.
In Oklahoma, nearly 300 homes and other structures were destroyed, Gov. Kevin Stitt said at a news conference on Saturday. At least 50 of those structures were in Stillwater, home to about 50,000 people and Oklahoma State University.
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