TULSA, Okla. — Update: The Jenks City Council voted to approve a state of emergency declaration March 25.
More than a week since a fire started in a compost pile at Gem Dirt in Tulsa, the mayor of Jenks is proposing a state of emergency.
For the first time in more than a week since the fire began on March 17, real signs of progress with a major, multi-agency response attacking the burning mulch.
Chief Greg Ostrum of Jenks Fire explained a combination of the strong winds and not having all of the tools in place to properly attack the fire played a role in the hold up.
“All of Oklahoma’s been burning, so that’s been taxing on all of the resources in the state and what’s available," he said. "A mulch fire like this is designed to be contained, not to spread as to be a defensive fire, until you have the resources to fight it.”
2 News spoke to neighbors who have been concerned for their health:
With an abundance of worry from nearby residents, Ostrum wanted to clear the air on potential health hazards with this fire.
“The fire itself is all organic material; there’s no synthetics in the fire at all," said Ostrum. "It is leaves primarily is what’s in the pile, so we’re not concerned with any toxic chemicals or anything like that. DEQ and the department of health both have been out here and they have no concerns.”
Joseph Kralicek, director of Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency, said he and his crew were following the directive of JFD. While there has been some confusion over jurisdiction because of Gem Dirt's location, Kralicek said it is Jenks's fire district, so they've been leading the way.
Kralicek explained some of the challenges crews have been facing fighting this fire.
“The closest fire hydrant is 2000 feet away, which means that we’re not running hoses from the fire hydrant to the facility," Kralicek said. "Instead, what we’re having to do is putting water into our large tank trucks and shuttle water to the site, and we’re needing to get more and more water into this because, like I said, this is about four and a half million cubic feet that is in the middle of burning.”
As crews move the mulch, Kralicek said things will likely get worse before they get better, with the hotspots being exposed to more oxygen. He suggests anyone with a known respiratory issue to stay inside if they can.
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Tulsa Emergency Management warns air quality near Gem Dirt to get worse
Fire crews from Tulsa, Jenks, and Sapulpa are moving and dousing the mulch as best as they can, alongside forestry services from Oklahoma, Florida, and Louisiana. Kralicek said the out of state crews were in the area, helping with the last two weeks of wildfires.
“Given the risk to public health and the concerns of that, we decided that we would go ahead and request those resources from the state, and we were approved to utilize those today," he said. "Based off the availability of resources, we have what we need. We need to do a successful attack on it.”
Oklahoma Forestry Services said that with their expertise in fighting fires like this, they expect two to three days of work before all of the flames and smoke are out.
The Jenks City Council is holding an emergency meeting on March 25 to vote on the state of emergency declaration. Should they approve it, it will be the first time an emergency declaration has been issued in Jenks since the 2019 floods.
Mayor Box said this declaration would open up more resources to help with this response and better protect the residents of Jenks.
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