The Rhea Fire that started on April 12, 2018 in Western Oklahoma grew quickly with Red Flag fire weather conditions and has now consumed over 100,000 hectares (246,000 acres). The fire is blamed for the death of 1 person so far. This fire is located in Dewey County, northeast of Leedey Oklahoma and is only 3% contained as of April 17, 2018. More than 500 firefighters are assigned along with three large air tankers, two type 1 helicopters, four single-engine air tankers, two CL-415 scooping air tankers, an air
attack plane, and two National Guard helicopters. The fire has been spurred on by the local weather which has been dry with high winds. Even the storms that swept through the area during the weekend did not diminish the fires and served to spread them due to high winds. Spread is likely to be to the south and east due to sustained strong winds in the area predicted to be 24 – 32 km/h (15-20 mph) with gusts up to 48 km/h (30 mph). READ MORE
