SPOKANE, Wash. — Days after the hottest temperatures Washington has seen this year, fire danger will rise to critical levels due to the dry and windy conditions.
Red Flag Warnings are in effect for the Columbia Basin, central and southern Washington, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday. The key weather conditions resulting in this are the winds, forecast to gust up to 35mph, and low relative humidity, as low as 12% during the day.
If Red Flag Warnings are issued, people should be conscious to do everything they can to prevent starting a wildfire. This includes respecting local burn bans and extinguishing campfires, safely dispose of cigarettes, and not parking on dry grass. Anything that prevents man made fires on these days is vital.
The Red Flag Warning represents when weather conditions cause a high threat for aggressive wildfires and a critical fire danger. But this is only if fires start in the first place, as it's nearly impossible to predict when and how a wildfire will start.
Low humidity and high winds is the perfect combination of weather conditions to take an existing wildfire and cause it to spread quickly. Temperature is not a direct factor, but the hotter the day, the lower the relative humidity will be.
Another factor to taken into consideration are drought conditions. And Washington's drought has gotten very bad this Spring. Central and southern Washing in particular are fairing the worst with a severe and extreme drought starting in June.
