CLEVELAND, Okla. — As Pawnee County residents fled from early morning wildfires, Pat Toner stood his ground.
He's lived in his home off Cimarron Valley Rd. for 38 years. And he was determined to protect it.
“It’s a community thing, everybody helps everybody out here," he said.
Around 1 a.m., Pat and his wife were woken up by sirens and smoke. Just across the street from their home, a terrifying hue of orange was moving their way.
Pat got his wife out the door and to safety, but he stayed back.
“I hooked up the watering hose and just started watering everything down as quick as possible," he said. "I got part of this bank, and you can see it didn’t touch our yard or nothing like that, so I guess we was real lucky.”
With so many fires starting up across the state, Pat said he had a gut feeling something like this would happen.
Local News
LIVE BLOG: Evacuations in Pawnee County, more fires spark in Green Country
Thankfully, the fires didn't hop the road to Pat's or his neighbor's homes.
"My nerves are still there, though, because you just don't know," he told 2 News. "Today could be calm, and then 8 o'clock at night, here we go again."
By mid-afternoon, officials confirmed to 2 News that the Pawnee fire was 75-80% contained.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
