TERLTON, Okla. — The evacuation in Terlton due to a large grass fire has been lifted for local traffic.
Due to the continued presence of fire trucks and other emergency personnel in the area, only local traffic is allowed back into the town.
According to the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Office, the fire initially jumped over train tracks south of town into a hay meadow. Since railroad ties are incredibly flammable, they created issues for first responders as they attempted to slow the spread of the fire Tuesday afternoon.
Another difficulty was that low areas of the ground remained wet from snow and rain, so first responders had to work carefully to prevent their trucks from getting stuck.
Firefighters will continue backburning brush in the area to stop flames from spreading north.