Kingfisher Co. Mother Narrowly Escapes Devastating Wildfire

At least three homes were destroyed by wildfires in Kingfisher County.

One of those homes belongs to the Giddings family. The mother, Elizabeth Giddens was home alone when she smelled smoke Tuesday afternoon. She said within minutes she was running for her life.

“I was just honestly in fear, I didn't even know if I could make it out,” said Elizabeth Giddens.

Giddens lived in Crescent with her husband and five children. After she smelled the smoke, she looked outside and saw the smoke, then went inside to grab her boots. “I wasn’t even inside two minutes, I came outside, and our woods were engulfed I just saw everything lit up,” she said. “It was the scariest thing that you can imagine.”

Her instincts set in, and she immediately let her animals out, chickens, dogs, and cats, before taking off to the main road. She said she was forced to run through smoke and fire. “I was being pelted by actual flames and stuff that was on fire,” Giddings said.

She ran out to Ricardo Gaytan, who was trying to escape the fire with his boys. "I stopped and I see someone like this," said Gaytan, waving his hands. "I picked her up, maybe she needs help."

Giddings jumped in his truck, driving through thick black smoke while the fire was chasing them. “There were trees and branches that were blowing into the street that he had to dodge, and they were on fire,” Giddings remembers. “We couldn't even see it until he was right up on them. You couldn't see two feet from your face is how thick the smoke was.

They finally made it out. Gaytan says he doesn’t consider himself a hero. "If someone needs help, I can help, I can do it," he said.

"My son said 'Yeah, I want to be like my dad,'" Gaytan’s wife Laura added. "He said 'My dad saved this lady.’”

Returning to the home on Wednesday, the Giddings home was reduced to rubble and ash. “We have nothing left it was completely flattened it's burned to the ground,” Giddings said. “We have nothing.”

Some signs of life emerged though; her three ducks survived. One of the family’s cats also was found under a tree, frightened and singed but otherwise okay. The family is still missing their three dogs and other cats.

Giddings is being treated for smoke inhalation and burns to her hands and arms. A GoFundMe account is set up to help the family.

Click here to donate: Fundraiser by Rebecca McClendon: Rebuild Hope for Elizabeth's Family of 7 

You can also donate to any BankFirst under the “Elizabeth Giddings Fund.”