Friday, March 28, 2025
Bryson Thadhani
Joe Bolene (left) and his daughter, Bella, in front of where their Stillwater home used to stand. The Bolene’s house is one of the 98 that was lost due to wildfires.
From the ground up Bolene family facing long, uphill battle after Stillwater home was lost to wildfires
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BY KENZIE KRAICH
s Joe Bolene drove into Stillwater, dozens of cars headed in the other direction. On the morning of March 14, Bolene was sent to Tulsa for an emergency oral surgery. He left his house with a swollen face and the clothes on his back. It wasn’t until a phone call from his daughter, Bella, that he and his wife, Sherry, heard about the evacuation of the area surrounding their house, the result of wildfires in Stillwater. Even then, Joe was optimistic about the chances of seeing his house standing where he left it, but as soon
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A S S I S TA N T S P O R T S E D I T O R
as he and his wife exited toward Stillwater, they quickly realized this was not an emergency they would see the end of. “It didn’t matter how fast we went,” Joe said. “It was too late.” The Bolenes were one of the many families impacted by wildfires that swept through Stillwater, Payne County and Oklahoma. Stillwater Fire Department Chief Terry Essary said Monday that 123 homes were impacted and 98 were lost. The Bolenes’ home was one of the 98. They just didn’t know it yet. As the drive progressed, time stood still for Joe. He was thinking of ev-
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erything he needed to grab — all the pieces of his family he would need to carry with him before they were gone. But reality set in as the smoke darkened and cars continued out of the town he was entering. The sound of wind chimes With no signs or sounds of fire trucks or police cars, Joe said checkpoints were “close to being a mob mentality” as residents huddled around, itching to get answers. The lack of alerts or alarms raised questions among many and sprung Joe and Sherry into action. They decided they would attempt to find
@KRAICH20 a way to see if their home was still standing. With fields engulfed in flames and “fire shooting out under bridges,” he said, they quickly realized they were not going to be able to make it farther safely. Luckily, the couple was able to stay with their daughter. But just minutes after arriving at her apartment, Joe again took things into his own hands. “By that time… my adrenaline was going, and I was just like, ‘I just have to know,’” he said.
See BOLENE on page 6A
Student volunteer firefighter battles large blaze near Yale HAYDEN ALEXANDER NEWS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR
Payton Little OSU pwrofessor Bryson Baker witnessed his neighborhood, Crosswinds, catch fire.
work, turning in last-minute assignments and fighting through their last exams before spring break. By midmorning, most of the student body had hit the road for beaches, vacations and relaxation at home. Senior Josh Hensley had other March 14 started out as a relatively plans. normal day. Students wrapped up their school
See FIREFIGHTER on page 5A
Professor’s neighborhood burns to his backyard, home survives RAYNEE HOWELL
ASSISTANT NEWS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR @RAYNEEHOWELL
As smoke began billowing through the sky across Stillwater, Bryson Baker found himself on the basketball court. Baker, a local entrepreneur and Oklahoma State theatre professor, was enjoying an early start to his spring
break March 14. He heard there was a possibility of high winds that day, but he thought it was just another warning — typical in Oklahoma — and a fire would never happen in town. He was quickly proven wrong. As the sky darkened and a wildfire raged a few miles southwest of Lake Carl Blackwell, Baker continued on playing a recreational game of basketball at a local gym.
See PROFESSOR on page 6A
Courtesy OSU Firefighters Challenge Team
Members of the OSU Firefighters Challenge Team volunteered to fight fires on March 14.