MAYES COUNTY, Okla. — A dozen agencies responded to a grassfire at Plumtree RV Park south of Salina in Mayes County on March 22.
Salina Fire Department said seven RV homes and three vehicles were destroyed, and ten acres were burnt.
Residents were evacuated for safety but allowed to return after the fire was contained.
Salina Assistant Fire Chief Garrett Ball said, “It was a huge fire load when we first arrived."
"Where we initially set up, we actually had to back out," he continued. "Our truck ended up being too close to the fire. The wind down in that bottom where it was at it created its own wind, and it was pushing the fire back toward us.”
“All I can tell you is that I got a call on my phone that said, ‘Plumtree is on fire,’” K.W. Storch, the park's owner, recalled to 2 News.
He told us he had to shut off power and water to two-thirds of the park because “that fire was so hot that it melted the valves that were down in the valve box.”
He says he can’t replace those valves until residents submit their individual insurance claims.
“I know everybody down there," he said. "It’s a good community.”
Since 2007, Storch has known the community that calls this steep, heavily wooded cavern home. He said it's incredibly tightknit.
"This is a setback," he said.
"But I guarantee you that— why don’t you come back in six months and take a look at it?” he added.
Ball said there was talk of a controlled burn, but the cause is still under investigation.
He said the wind made things difficult and they had some water supply issues, but thankfully, no one was injured.
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