PRYOR — Intense winds have been pummeling the town of Pryor the past several days. It made it difficult for community members as they tackled a grass fire at the town dump Saturday. Residents were successful in putting out the fire, however, they said the weather they've been experiencing is unusual for this time of year.
Derek Big Day didn't expect to see a grass fire across the creek at the town's dump when he stepped out of his home Saturday.
"I was up, went outside, and I looked toward the hills and hear how [a] fire was going rapidly. The wind, the wind is really unusual right now," Derek said. "It was swinging around and then it came from the south and then hit really hard and then just took it to the hills."
That fire was slowly making it's way towards his sister's house.
"That's what I was afraid of with my sister's house. But up on a hill, there's ranches on the other side. That was scary too," said Derek. "And it was hard because there's a fire station right from the town about a mile away from the fire, and it took them an hour and a half to show up to the fire to help when we needed that truck."
He said local residents and community members took firefighting into their own hands.
"The first responders were the Fish and Game. He showed up right away. His name is Jace Big Day, he showed up right away, and then he went on top of the hill to stop it from access to a hay field. That would have been bad. He was up there fighting that while everybody was on the bottom fighting that other one," Derek said.
"The fire was pretty much controlled within a half hour to an hour because of locals that came together," Jace Big Day said. "We even had some of the renters coming in from the top, on top of the hill to help out and stuff. But it was mostly the younger generation."
Jace has 24 seasons under his belt as a wildland firefighter and said he's noticed changes in the area's weather over the years.
"The winds are different. They seem stronger over the years because I've realized that myself," said Jace. "About this time of year, we have two to four feet of snow. Like from the 80s till today, the weather pattern is different."
With no snow on the ground, former firefighter and Pryor resident, James Wilson, said it's unusual for this time of year. He's spent 28 years as a firefighter.
"It's been dry. The way that fire spread with the wind is, I would say, normal because of the conditions, but not normal because of the time of year," Wilson said.
It's kept him and other residents on high alert.
"If you're out, smoking a cigarette or building a campfire or whatever, be cautious of the wind because it can take off and destroy a lot of territory," said Wilson.
Derek said the fire could have caused much more damage if it weren't for the town's community members.
"It just makes you feel good that more people can get together that quick and help each other that needed when it's needed," Derek said. "That was a good thing that they did, especially all the young men. There was a lot of young men that showed up, and they were the ones that basically put out the fires."
