Meteorologist Rescues Cow Herd from Fire with Help of Facebook Users

KOCO 5 field meteorologist Michael Armstrong helped save a herd of cows and calves with the help of Facebook Live viewers.
KOCO 5 field meteorologist Michael Armstrong helped save a herd of cows and calves with the help of Facebook Live viewers.
(KOCO 5 )

With the help of Facebook Live viewers a meteorologist from Oklahoma City was able to save a herd of cows and calves from a fire in northwest Oklahoma.

Oklahoma has been on fire for the past week with the Rhea Fire and 34 Complex Fire still burning since April 12. Those two fires alone have accounted for more than 300,000 acres going up in flames.

While covering the Rhea Fire on assignment Michael Armstrong, Field Meteorologist for KOCO 5, came upon a herd of cattle five miles south of Seiling that were about to be trapped by flames. Armstrong filmed the rescue while his colleague First Alert Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane was speaking with him on Facebook Live.

The cows were standing on a hillside with tall grass about a half mile from the road. Lane shared suggestions from viewers of the stream who told Armstrong to honk his horn at the herd of roughly 30 cows with calves. 

Armstrong entered the pasture from the road via a gate and coaxed the herd with his vehicle’s horn to an area with short grass near a water tank.

To watch the full rescue checkout the Facebook Live from Meteorologist Damon Lane below (the rescue starts about 15 minutes into the video):

More information about the fires in Oklahoma can be found from the following stories:

Hay Urgently Needed In Oklahoma; 5 Resources For Disaster Assistance

Extreme Fire Risk in High Plains, Southwest

Wildfires Turn Deadly in Oklahoma, Burns 300,000 Acres-plus

Man Barely Escapes Oklahoma Wildfire

State of Emergency in Oklahoma; Cattlemen Start Wildfire Relief Fund

Oklahoma Wildfires Burn More Than 200,000 Acres, Still Raging

Do Not Forget About Post-wildfire Trauma in Livestock

 

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