Crews battle large wildfire in central Oklahoma

GUTHRIE, OK -- Crews were battling a large wildfire in central Oklahoma near Guthrie early Monday that destroyed several homes as it raced through the parched landscape.

The wildfire broke out Sunday when a controlled burn that began at about 4 p.m. got out of hand, Guthrie Fire Department Chief Eric Harlow said. By 9 p.m., it had burned an estimated 4 to 6 square miles of land, as well as several homes, he said.

A 56-year-old man was found dead in his home Sunday night after the blazed passed through that area, Harlow said.

Tabitha Diamond, who lives in an area a few miles from Guthrie where the fire swept through, told KOCO-TV that she was returning from a music festival in Noble when she saw the flames and sped home. The fire missed her place, but it destroyed someone's trailer home nearby, she said.

"It didn't get close enough, but it got too close," she said, referring to the fire's threat to her home.

The American Red Cross set up a shelter for those affected by the fire at a church in Guthrie.

High winds and dry conditions fueled several wildfires in Oklahoma on Sunday.