Residents return home after Oklahoma fires

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Many Oklahomans forced to leave their homes because of raging wildfires were allowed to return Sunday, despite some fires that continue to burn.

A "monster" fire had devoured almost 91 square miles and continued burning between Mannford and Kellyville in northeastern Oklahoma's Creek County, as light rain and cooler temperatures gave firefighters a brief respite Sunday, said Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Michelle Finch-Walker.

She described the blaze as hopscotching as it burned some areas and left others untouched. "It's not like an inferno moving across the landscape," Finch-Walker said. "You can drive for miles down the highway and see nothing but black, but then you can see pockets of green, pockets unburned."

Finch-Walker said residents of the town of Mannford, which was evacuated Saturday, had been allowed to return and that she was not aware of any other evacuation orders.

Nigel Holderby, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross, said shelters remained open yesterday in Payne County, about 35 miles to the west.

The National Weather Service said 0.15 to 0.16 inches of rain fell early yesterday in the area, but no more was expected until at least midweek.

Meteorologist Bart Haake said temperatures for the next two to three days are expected to be milder, in the 90s rather than above 110 degrees.

Finch-Walker said firefighters welcomed that bit of news, but with the knowledge that it's only about a two-day window. "It's not fabulous," she said. "We're not out of the woods by any stretch."