Salvation Army Support Continues in Support of Ongoing Wildfires

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 9, 2017) – The Salvation Army continues its support of the Oklahoma Forestry Service and multiple firefighting task forces from numerous counties as wildfires escalate in northwestern Oklahoma.  As of Wednesday evening, over 118k acres have burned in Harper and Woodward counties as well as 715k acres burned in north Harper and Beaver counties crossing the Kansas/Oklahoma state line. 

Throughout the day Wednesday additional fire resources continued to roll in to the staging area.   The Salvation Army is based at the staging center, serving on site as well as sending meals to the frontline firefighters.  On Wednesday, The Salvation Army provided over 1,000 meals, 2,500 drinks and 1,500 snacks.   Two Salvation Army Officers, three employees and one volunteer provided 99 hours of service on Wednesday.

Major Ernest Hull, Commanding Officer for The Salvation Army of Enid, states “We are taking care of the first responders who are fighting these raging wildfires in northern Oklahoma.  We are blessed to be in a community who is helping us with supplies so we can meet the needs of those who are relying on us during this event.”   When asked what it means to him to have the Advisory Board Chair volunteering, Major Hull responded “To have my advisory board chair so invested in The Salvation Army means a lot to me.  He truly loves our work and had no problem responding to the call to serve in Woodward and place his business on hold so we could serve people in need."

Demetrius Office, The Salvation Army of Enid’s Advisory Board Chair, explains how he became plugged in to The Salvation Army, “I received an invitation to see what The Salvation Army was doing in Enid and I just fell in love with the mission and programs.  I went to a couple of disaster trainings and found I could be of service to people in our community in times of disaster as well as others times of need.”  When asked about his experience serving on this event, Office replied “Firefighters from all over the state are here to fight these fires.   It’s an honor to serve them and the support we are receiving from the Woodward community is amazing.”

The Salvation Army continues to work closely with Emergency Management and the Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster to ensure the response is closely coordinated.  Our support will continue until assistance is no longer needed. 

Additional updates will be provided as necessary.