Portions of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur remain closed after a wildfire centered around the Veterans Lake area ravaged portions of the park over the weekend.
The fire started as a controlled burn of a brush pile on private land on Saturday evening, March 19, according to a press release from the National Park Service. The fire escaped containment around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday and spread quickly into Chickasaw National Recreation Area.
The fire was originally thought to have encompassed nearly 3,200 acres. As of Tuesday morning, the National Park Service reported the fire was actually smaller, covering an estimated 1,000 acres. A press release issued by the NPS on Tuesday said approximately 250 acres were still burning in the recreation area and the fire was approximately 10% contained, mostly on the northern edge. Fire crews from the NPS and the Bureau of Indian Affairs were working to secure the fire perimeter extending down the western and eastern flanks of the fire and full containment was expected to be complete by early next week.
Closures remain in effect for Veterans Lake, Veterans Lake Trail, Cats Eye Road, the Multi-Use Trail system, and the Inkana Trail. Other previously closed areas have reopened.
Agencies responding to the fire over the weekend included Sulphur Fire Department, Davis Fire Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Joy Volunteer Fire Department, Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department, Rock Prairie Volunteer Fire Department, Sulphur Police Department, Murray County Emergency Management, Davis Emergency Management, and the Murray County Sheriff’s Office.
