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Jenks City Council declares emergency after Gem Dirt wildfire; chief reports progress in containment
Summary
The City of Jenks declared a local emergency after the Gem Dirt wildfire; the declaration waives competitive bidding and authorizes the city manager to execute emergency contracts. Fire Chief Ostrom described multi-day firefighting efforts and new resources that increased extinguishment to about 10–15 percent after a concerted attack.
The Jenks City Council on March 25 unanimously adopted an emergency disaster declaration related to the Gem Dirt fire, authorizing the city manager to enter emergency contracts, accept outside aid and waive competitive bidding as allowed by law.
Mayor Corey (Corey/Tory) Box read the emergency declaration into the record, saying the city and its fire protection area had "experienced a disaster in the form of fires" and that immediate action was required to protect public health and safety. The resolution cites Oklahoma law and the Public Competitive Bidding Act to allow the city manager to act quickly and to accept equipment and aid from other jurisdictions and the state.
Fire Chief Ostrom briefed the council on operations. He said the initial dispatch for the fire came March 17 and that high winds and extreme conditions allowed the blaze to burn a very large mulch pile and adjacent materials. Peak operations involved multiple mutual-aid departments; at one point crews flowed water in support operations and used excavators to move material to expose and extinguish burning pockets.
"At peak operations, we had eight engines running, six brush trucks, five command vehicles, and flowed close to 250,000 gallons of water during the initial period," Chief Ostrom said. He described the burning mass as a large pile of combustible material that required sustained water flow and said local resources had not been sufficient to extinguish the incident while other large fires across the state depleted mutual aid resources.
Chief Ostrom told the council that after a week of smoldering and challenging conditions, new out-of-state dozers and pumpers arrived along with state and county resources. After a concerted attack, the incident team achieved about 10–15 percent extinguishment on the pile during one day of intensified operations and was flowing approximately 250,000 gallons per hour at the end of that day. State resources were scheduled to be released overnight and to return the next day with another 12-hour operational push that the chief said would likely achieve further control.
The emergency declaration passed on a roll-call vote. The resolution authorizes the city manager to accept services, equipment and aid, to enter emergency contracts, and to ratify performance and expenses already incurred. The resolution also states that the emergency provisions will expire 30 days from the declaration date unless extended by council.
Council members publicly thanked the chief and visiting departments for their assistance. The mayor and members singled out county and state officials who helped secure resources, and a number of councilors acknowledged the work of mutual-aid departments and the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
Ending: The council instructed staff to return with operations updates; the declaration allows the city manager to contract and accept aid immediately while the response continues.
Votes at a glance - Emergency disaster declaration for Gem Dirt fire — Approved unanimously by roll-call; council authorized city manager emergency powers and bidding waivers for contracts up to specified thresholds (see actions[]).
