Drought in HARPER, OKLAHOMA
From 01-AUG-06 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-06 23:59:00 (CST)
Property damage: 100K
Crop damage: 2M
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

The drought conditions continued across parts of Oklahoma through the month of August. However, a few areas did show some improvement by the end of the month. At the first of the month drought conditions ranged from extreme to exceptional (D3-D4), with the worst conditions in southern Oklahoma. By the end of the month, extreme to exceptional drought conditions were still in place across southern and parts of central Oklahoma. However, northern and the rest of central Oklahoma improved to severe conditions (D2).The dry conditions maintained an increase in wildfire potential across the region with burn bans issued across part of the area. However, this did not stop some wildfires from occurring. Most fires burned less than 100 acres causing some damage to pasture, etc. Some of these fires were believed to have been started by lightning, while others were caused by humans. On one of the smaller fires that occurred south of Madill in early August, four firefighters were injured when they succumbed to heat exhaustion. One fire did become rather large burning approximately 1500 acres in the Arbuckle Mountains in Murray County. The fire began around 10:00 CST on August 17 near the scenic turnout on Interstate 35 near mile marker 49. The fire eventually jumped I-35 near mile marker 50 and mostly burned land between the interstate and Highway 77. Campers in the area were evacuated while Interstate 35 between mile marker 40 and 59 and parts of Highway 77 were shut down for about 7 hours from early afternoon to late evening. The traffic was diverted into the town of Sulphur which caused a traffic jam approximately 15 miles long. The flames of the fire reportedly shot 80 feet into the air. Two planes, at least 3 helicopters, and 51 fire departments were used to fight this large fire. Only one structure was known to have been damaged. The roof of the old trout restaurant located near Turner Falls along Highway 77 was damaged.Fires have not been the only problems associated with the drought conditions. Many communities continued to institute voluntary or mandatory water rationing programs. Low lake levels also caused problems for recreation and wildlife. Two fish kills were reported in August. One occurred at the Great Salt Plains Lake in Alfalfa county in northern Oklahoma. Officials estimated 10,000 fish were killed due to the low water levels and hot temperatures. Another fish kill occurred on Lake Texoma in south central Oklahoma. Several thousand fish were found dead in the Wilson Creek Cove area of the lake. For the recreation industry, some lakes have been closed to boating, swimming, and fishing. Receding shorelines caused many boat ramps and docks to become dry. Boaters on area lakes have also had several accidents due to the low water levels bringing objects on the floor of the lakes closer to the surface.The agriculture community also continued to be hit hard by the drought conditions. Oklahoma had been declared a disaster area allowing for federal assistance. Ranchers and farmers continued to sell part or all of their livestock herds due to dried up farm ponds, lack of pasture land, and the lack of hay. Summer crops were also affected by the dry conditions. Officials say part of the cotton crop had suffered from the dry and hot conditions. Those crops or areas that rely on irrigation were also adversely affected by the drought.