The Ranger Road Fire: A Warning Shot in a Hollowed-Out System

by M. Beasley

Let’s start with what this fire was not.

The Ranger Road Fire was not driven by federal timber harvest levels.
It was not burning in overstocked national forests.
It was not the result of environmental regulation.

NASA classified it as a “fast fire” These are wind-driven grassland fire behavior under extreme drought and low fuel moisture. Fine dead fuel moisture was reported at 5%. Seventy-four percent of Oklahoma is in moderate to extreme drought. Winds exceeded 60 mph.