(NEW YORK) — Oklahoma is under alert for fire danger on Monday after being devastated by deadly blazes over the weekend, and amid a continued fire threat in the Plains.
More than 50 million Americans are under alert for fire weather conditions on Monday. Red flag warnings and fire weather watches have been issued in more than a dozen states, from Texas and Oklahoma up to the Dakotas as well as Florida, due to the chance for high winds and low humidity.
Parts of Oklahoma, as well as Kansas, New Mexico and Texas, face a critical threat of fire danger, with gusts up to 45 mph possible along with relative humidity down to 9% in places.
The continued fire threat comes after four people were killed and over 140 injured in Oklahoma due to high winds and raging wildfires that ignited on Friday, officials said.
More than 130 fires were reported in 44 counties, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said Friday.
More than 400 homes and structures have been destroyed in the fires, the agency said. That includes Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s ranch near Luther; the governor said his farmhouse experienced a “total loss” in Friday’s fires.
“We’ll be rebuilding with all of Oklahoma,” he said in a video posted to social media over the weekend.
Stillwater Fire Chief Terry Essary told ABC News on Monday that 75 structures were lost in his area alone after multiple wildfires broke out on Friday amid high winds that made for challenging conditions.
“The wind was blowing so hard,” Essary said. “It was a very helpless feeling, but you just keep at it. You do what you can, you save what you can, and you keep moving on to the next and helping as many people as possible.”
A state of emergency remained in effect on Sunday for 12 Oklahoma counties due to the wildfires and fire weather conditions, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said.
The fire threat continues in Oklahoma and increases in West Texas on Tuesday, with an extreme critical risk for weather conditions. Winds could gust 60 to 75 mph with relative humidity down to 7% in places. Any fires that develop in these conditions can spread easily and will be very difficult to control.
ABC News’ Mireya Villarreal and James Scholz contributed to this report.
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