Wildfire in Oklahoma, March 20, 2011

Name: Wildfire in Oklahoma, March 20, 2011
Start: 2011-03-20T11:00
End: 2011-03-20T23:00
Location: Oklahoma

March 20, 2011 · NWS TSA · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $15,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 14

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS TSA wrote it up.

Strong wind, low relative humidities, warm temperatures, and dormant vegetation promoted the spread of wildfire on the 20th. Around 70 wildfires were reported this day across eastern Oklahoma burning more than 4000 acres. Some of the larger wildfires occurred in Pittsburg, Latimer, Haskell, Adair, and Pushmataha Counties.

Local fire departments along with Oklahoma Forestry Services, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Oklahoma Army National Guard battled those blazes, many of which threatened structures. Several outbuildings were burned but no homes were lost.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 20, 10:24 AM CST, 36 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 10:24 AM CST, 36 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1124 AM CDT SUN MAR 20 2011

...UPDATE...

.DISCUSSION...
CURRENT FORECAST ON TRACK THIS MORNING WITH ONLY A FEW MINOR
CHANGES. RAISED HIGH TEMPERATURES BY A DEGREE OR TWO...
PRIMARILY OVER NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA. NO OTHER CHANGES ANTICIPATED.

&&

.TSA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...NONE.
AR...NONE.
&&

SHORT TERM...12

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 20, 4:00 AM CST, 7 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
500 AM CDT SUN MAR 20 2011

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-211000-
ADAIR OK-BENTON AR-CARROLL AR-CHEROKEE OK-CHOCTAW OK-CRAIG OK-
CRAWFORD AR-CREEK OK-DELAWARE OK-FRANKLIN AR-HASKELL OK-LATIMER OK-
LE FLORE OK-MADISON AR-MAYES OK-MCINTOSH OK-MUSKOGEE OK-NOWATA OK-
OKFUSKEE OK-OKMULGEE OK-OSAGE OK-OTTAWA OK-PAWNEE OK-PITTSBURG OK-
PUSHMATAHA OK-ROGERS OK-SEBASTIAN AR-SEQUOYAH OK-TULSA OK-WAGONER OK-
WASHINGTON OK-WASHINGTON AR-
500 AM CDT SUN MAR 20 2011

...VERY HIGH FIRE DANGER TODAY...

THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS
MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

SIGNIFICANT WINDS.
	RISK...LIMITED.
	AREA...EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
	ONSET...MID MORNING.

FIRE WEATHER DANGER.
	RISK...ELEVATED.
	AREA...EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
	ONSET...MID MORNING.

DISCUSSION...
RAPID FIRE SPREAD WILL BE LIKELY TODAY WITH WINDY CONDITIONS AND
WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES PREVAILING. SOUTHERLY WINDS AT
SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH...AND GUSTING TO 35 MPH...WILL
DEVELOP BY MID MORNING ACROSS ALL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. AFTERNOON HIGHS WILL REACH THE LOWER 80S
ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...WHICH WILL ALSO RESULT IN MINIMUM
RELATIVE HUMIDITIES IN THE 25 TO 35 PERCENT RANGE IN FAR EASTERN
OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS...AND THE 35 TO 40 PERCENT RANGE
ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA. CONDITIONS WILL ONLY
MARGINALLY IMPROVE AFTER SUNSET...AS WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN
GUSTY THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION NOT EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.
MONDAY...VERY HIGH FIRE WEATHER POTENTIAL...HIGH WIND POTENTIAL.
TUESDAY...THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL...VERY HIGH FIRE WEATHER POTENTIAL...
          HIGH WIND POTENTIAL.
WEDNESDAY...NO HAZARDS.
THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL.

EXTENDED DISCUSSION...
A VERY HIGH FIRE DANGER WILL CONTINUE INTO MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS
SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS GUSTING TO 35 MPH AND AFTERNOON HIGHS
NEAR 80 DEGREES PERSIST. LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...A
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IN THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PLAINS IS EXPECTED
TO BRING A DRYLINE THROUGH PORTIONS OF THE AREA. DEPENDING ON THE
EXACT TIMING OF THE DRYLINE PASSAGE...THIS COULD WORSEN AN ALREADY
BAD FIRE WEATHER SITUATION.

A SMALL CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS...WITH SOME SEVERE POTENTIAL...WILL
ALSO ACCOMPANY THE AFOREMENTIONED DRYLINE.

LATE IN THE WEEK AND INTO NEXT WEEKEND...THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW WILL
BECOME LARGELY ZONAL...AND A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL REMAIN OVER THE
AREA. A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL ACCOMPANY SMALL DISTURBANCES
THAT MOVE ACROSS THE AREA DURING THIS PERIOD.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING STATEMENT...

WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA CONTAINS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Choctaw

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Choctaw forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 34.027, -95.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Pushmataha

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Pushmataha forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 34.416, -95.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Pittsburg

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Pittsburg forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 34.924, -95.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Latimer

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Latimer forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 34.876, -95.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Le Flore

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Le Flore forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Wildfire, Haskell

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Haskell forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 35.225, -95.117 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, McIntosh

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: McIntosh forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 35.374, -95.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Okmulgee

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Okmulgee forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 35.647, -95.964 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Okfuskee

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Okfuskee forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 35.466, -96.323 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Creek

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Creek forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 35.903, -96.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Pawnee

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Pawnee forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 36.317, -96.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Osage

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Osage forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Wildfire, Adair

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Adair forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 35.884, -94.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Muskogee

When: March 20, 11:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where: Muskogee forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 35.616, -95.379 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, March 2011

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 289855, 289856, 289858, 289859, 289860, 289861, 289862, 289864, 289865, 289867, 289868, 289869, 289871, 289872.