Things are Heating Up: What is a Red Flag Warning?
- Zack Richards
- Apr 12, 2018
- 2 min read
Residents of basically the entire Mountain State awoke to a Thursday under a Red Flag Warning, much to the confusion of many. Just what is a Red Flag Warning? Is it a serious threat?
Red Flag Warnings are alerts used to notify both public fire and land officials, as well as the public, of weather conditions that are conducive to the formation and spread of wildfire. Typically, the desert southwest and California are the most common areas to see these warnings (and the annual fire season reflects the danger), however they can be issued by any National Weather Service forecasting office that forecasts warnable conditions.
The basis for Red Flag Warnings, as well as their less-immediate counterpart Fire Weather Watches, are a series of forecasts that come out of the Storm Prediction Center's Fire Weather branch. Here, meteorologists look for specific combinations that could lead to a higher-than-usual fire danger. Things like low humidity, high surface temperatures, dry thunderstorms (thunderstorms with lightning but little or no rain reaching the ground), and gusty winds all elevate the fire risk.
What's also important to remember is that the thresholds for issuing a warning are tied to the Forecast Office putting it out and thus the criteria are a little different everywhere, like winter weather alerts. Fire risks depend on topography, population, available fuel, time of year, and the number of large water sources in the risk area. With precipitation chances near zero, gusty southerly breezes, low humidity, and warming temperatures, the SPC and National Weather Service have ample reason to go ahead with this one.
So how can you prevent wildfire? Hold off on outdoor burning until the warning expires and conditions become less favorable. Keep ahold of cigarette butts and dispose of them properly, not in a grassy field or wooded area where the spark might set the area ablaze (plus the litter is nasty). Also, completely put out campfires or grilling charcoal before leaving the area. Remember, the only safe fire is a dead fire - anything that's too warm to touch is too warm to leave unattended! And finally, if you see a fire, report it! The scary nature of wildfires allows them to spread even more quickly in mountainous areas, and just a small fire can cause a lot of damage and destruction (remember last year's blaze on Seneca Rocks).
Spring is just beginning in our area - let's heed the warning and keep this year's fires in the pit.
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