Flat Tire Fire Burns Approximately 5,000 Acres in Beaver County

About 5,000 acres of grassland burned north of U.S. Highway 83 and south of EW 18 Road near Turpin in Beaver County when a large grass fire known locally as the "Flat Tire Fire" erupted Tuesday, prompting multi-county and multi-state mutual aid and a temporary closure of U.S. Highway 83 between U.S. Highway 64 in Turpin and U.S. Highway 412. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported the highway closure Tuesday afternoon and said the roads were back open just before 9:00 p.m. Tuesday.

The initial multi-agency request for assistance came Tuesday morning at approximately 11:35 a.m., and the Texas County Fire Strike Team arrived and began operations at about 1:00 p.m., according to KSCB reporting. The Strike Team roster included Guymon, Texhoma, Goodwell, Hough, Yarbrough, Hardesty, and Baker fire departments. Departments from Beaver County, Ellis County, and Ochiltree County, Texas, also responded, and Seward County, Kansas units were on scene, Seward County Fire Chief Andrew Barkley reported.

Oklahoma Forestry Service crews out of Weatherford remained at the incident through Wednesday morning, constructing fire lines and putting out hot areas as part of suppression work. The Forestry Service characterized the blaze as the first sizable fire in Northwest Oklahoma this season and reported the incident was about 25 percent contained as of 9:00 a.m. Wednesday. News 9 social updates and on-scene photos credited to Tye Frantz, assistant fire chief at Hardesty, noted that crews would be monitoring several hot spots along the Beaver River.

Local fire leadership described challenging fuel conditions as crews fought the fire. Guymon Fire Chief Grant Wadley said, "This was a large fire with a great deal of dry fuels to burn." That assessment echoed multiple field reports that dry grass and open fuel across ranch and pastureland drove rapid spread, prompting the regional response from rural departments that rely on mutual aid.

Social media posts amplified the scale and community response. An Instagram caption identified the blaze as "Flat Tire Fire North of Highway 83 & EW 18 Road, South of Turpin Beaver County, OK," estimating 5,000 acres burned, and Western Wildfire Insight posted a similar 5,000-acre estimate on Facebook. Some outlets and Facebook pages listed additional responding units, including Booker Volunteer Fire Department, the Ashland Fire Department, and Perryton Fire and Rescue in Texas; those department appearances were reported by other media and social pages but not confirmed across all official accounts.

Available reports do not identify a cause of ignition, list any injuries, or detail structure losses, and land-ownership breakdown for the burned acreage was not reported. The scope of the incident, the Oklahoma Forestry Service description of seasonal risk, and the reliance on volunteer and small municipal departments such as Guymon, Hardesty and Texhoma highlight ongoing questions about rural firefighting resources and coordination for Beaver County and neighboring communities. Incident command and Oklahoma Forestry Service in Weatherford remain primary contacts for updated acreage, containment and resource lists as recovery continues.