Fire Warnings Issued for Seven States: ‘Critical Conditions’

Fire warnings are in place for certain areas in seven states, as strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures are expected to create the right conditions for dangerous blazes to break out and spread across the country.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued red flag warnings—which means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly—in parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming on Monday.

The agency issued an urgent warning over much of West Texas and Southeast New Mexico, which will be under an alert between Monday afternoon—noon CDT—and this evening—10 p.m. CDT—as these areas face a Red Flag Threat Index of 8 or extreme. The RFTI goes from 0, or Nil, to 1-2, Elevated; 3-4, Critical Low; 5-6, Critical High; 7-8 Extremely Critical; and 9-10 Historically Critical.

Humidity in these areas will be relatively low today, down to 3 percent, while the wind is expected to bring gusts up to 60 mph. The NWS recommends residents avoid using open flames or doing any activities that might generate sparks. Drivers are urged to extinguish cigarettes inside their vehicles, as accidental ignitions could generate dangerous wind-driven wildfires.

Other areas in the Lone Star State, which last month was hit by the worst wildfire in the state’s history, are under fire warnings, including the extreme Southwestern Texas Panhandle and the Western South Plains. The NWS recommends residents avoid outdoor burning as any fire could develop and spread rapidly.

The Amarillo, Texas, branch of the NWS has issued a fire warning for Oldham and Deaf Smith, Dallam, Sherman, Hansford, Ochiltree, Hartley, Moore and Hutchinson.

In southeast New Mexico, warm and dry conditions in the past few days “have dried fuels ahead of a strong system expected to move through the area on Monday,” the NWS wrote. A combination of strong wind and low humidity could contribute to the rapid spread of fires across the territory.

Also under a red flag warning are the northeast highlands and plains, and the area from the middle Rio Grande Valley eastward.

Several counties in northern, southeast and south central Colorado—including most of the plains and Palmer Divide in the north and Pueblo County in the south—will be under a high fire risk between Monday morning and Monday evening, as low humidity and strong winds could encourage the growth and spread of fires.

NWS Kansas City issued fire warnings for much of the region, which will be in place between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time on Monday due to elevated critical fire weather conditions. Still in Kansas, NWS Dodge City warned that a dryline—a boundary separating dry air from moist air—will develop on Monday, though its exact position is unclear. There’ll be a high risk of fire to the west of the dryline, while severe storms are expected to develop in the late evening east of the dryline.

Areas in north central and northeast South Dakota, including Grant, Stanley, Hughes, Jones and Lyman, will also be under a fire warning until Monday evening; in Wyoming, the fire warning extends to the Lower North Platte River Basin, the Scottsbluff National Monument, Lodgepole Creek and the Southern Nebraska Panhandle.

In Nebraska, the NWS in North Platte issued a red flag warning that will be in effect from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. MDT on Monday, as humidity will be as low as 8 percent and winds will blow with gusts up to 40 mph.