A cold front swept through Oklahoma late Thursday, bringing weather that dampened fire potential.
The front brings cooler weather, lighter winds and increasing relative humidity, though two red flag warnings remain in Cimarron and Texas Counties.
Multiple fires continue to burn, having already scorched nearly 322,000 acres, according to the Oklahoma Forestry Services. Eight counties have burn bans in effect, mostly in the central part of the state. Crews in Northwest Oklahoma were fighting blazes as wind chills dropped into the teens Friday morning. Most of the state's firefighting force are volunteer crews.
Oklahoma is entering a calm weekend with a break from prime fire weather, according to Meteorologist John Pike at the National Weather Service.
"But next week we're going to start getting warm again," Pike said. "And drier air coming back through the west and so fire danger will be increasing next week."
He said the potential is supposed to pick up again, mainly around next Tuesday.
This past week, dry air from the west and warm temperatures created relatively low humidity. Given the drought and increased fuel loads — the large amount of dormant, dry or dead plants on the ground — because of last year's summer rains, makes more wildfire potential.
"All it takes is if somebody were to ignite it by either throwing a cigarette out the window or vehicle dragging chains. Or a campfire or anything like that, any kind of ignition source, and then it could quickly spread," Pike said.
When the cold front moved across the state, it posed a problem for firefighters because it shifted winds and brought stronger gusts.
State Climatologist Gary McManus said this break of pleasant, albeit cold, weather does not last long for the Oklahoma panhandle. In addition to the two Red Flag warnings, he said winds are expected to reach 40 to 50 miles per hour.
"So this would be a good time for the main body of the state to be able to finally contain all those fires before we start back up again next week," McManus said.
This type of fire danger is prevalent this time of the year, though March is Oklahoma's official wildfire month. When the state sees fires at scale, he said, some of it is bad luck given the weather conditions.
He said an ignition started in an area that wasn't well protected with services causing fires to spread. The danger can continue until grasses start to green up.
"But if the drought hangs around and it keeps those fuel loads up, keeps things dormant or even dead, well then this fire season will extend farther into the spring, so we just need to keep that in mind," McManus said. "Greenup is the big equalizer in ending our fire season."
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