Woman Arrested After House Burns in Geary

GEARY – A Geary woman is in custody this week after a house fire and grass fires sprang up Thurs day in the heart of town, decimating the home.

April Ibarra was arrested that day on suspicion of arson and was booked into the Blaine County Jail.

The house fire began Thursday evening at a home on Northeast 1st Street, just behind the Maib Short Stop convenience store. Blaine County emergency manager Jim Shelton said the fire was first reported around 6:45 p.m.

Geary firefighters were on scene within 10 minutes, he said, but the fast-moving fire had already engulfed the old home.

Geary firefighters were eventually joined at the scene by crews from Watonga, Hinton, Greenfield and Hitchcock. By 7:45 the fire was still smoldering, but mostly out; Shelton said the scene was cleared by 11 p.m. that night.

Officials shut down Broadway Avenue at 1st Street for more than an hour while crews fought the fire, rerouting traffic through town.

Geary Police spokesman Terryl Allen said “several eyewitnesses” reported the home’s resident, Ibarra, was “seen walking away from the structure while it was smoking and on fire.” The Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s office was contacted to help investigate how the fire began, he said.

In addition to the house fire, Allen said “at least three additional fires” were caused “by the high winds blowing hot embers into dry grass southeast” of the home. With western Oklahoma facing drought and dangerous fire conditions, Shelton said the town is fortunate that more structures didn’t burn Thursday.

Ibarra was arrested based on the eyewitness statements given to police, Allen said. “The Blaine County District Attorney will make the final determination if formal charges will be filed.”

Geary Fire Chief Jeff Choate said there were no injuries reported in the Thursday fires. In a Friday Facebook post, the City of Geary thanked the responding fire departments and “everyone who jumped in and helped yesterday with the structure fire.”

The city praised the “quick response” of utility employee Devin Pratt and thanked Tatum Harrall and Lupe Hernandez for feeding the firefighters. It also thanked Pafford EMS for providing water and helping out.

The house fire is Geary’s second in several months. In early December, a fire destroyed one home and damaged another at the intersection of 2nd and Cheyenne.