Wildfire evacuation order lifted for small Oklahoma town

OKLAHOMA CITY – Officials say residents of a small southwestern Oklahoma town have returned to their homes after being ordered to evacuate due to a wildfire threat.

Keli Cain of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said Sunday that the wildfire threatened Martha, a town of about 150 people that’s roughly 120 miles (193 kilometres) southwest of Oklahoma City. Cain says the fire is still burning but no longer threatens the town.

Authorities say another wildfire that began in Texas and spread to Oklahoma on Friday was still burning Sunday. Firefighters in both states are battling the blaze, which has scorched about 42 square miles (110 square kilometres) of land.

The Oklahoma Forestry Services says another wildfire in northwestern Oklahoma has burned more than 375 square miles (970 square kilometres) of land.