The National Weather Service has posted Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches for areas in Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.
There is some confusion about the forecast in Nebraska. While the map shows Red Flag Warnings in at least two areas within the state, other indications are that those Warnings were cancelled.
All areas are expected to have strong winds and low humidities.
The map was current as of 11:20 a.m. MT on Sunday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
The National Weather Service has posted Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches for areas in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The Red Flag areas (in red) expire Saturday evening. Most of the Fire Weather Watch areas (in yellow) expire Sunday evening.
All areas are expected to have strong winds and low humidities.
The map was current as of 9:25 a.m. MT on Saturday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
The National Weather Service has posted Red Flag Warnings that expire Thursday evening for areas in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
All of the areas are expected to have dry fuels, strong winds, and low humidities.
The map was current as of 8:28 a.m. MT on Thursday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
The National Weather Service has posted Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches for areas in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The Red Flag areas (in red) expire Thursday evening except for the ones in Colorado that expire Wednesday evening.
All areas are expected to have dry fuels, strong winds, and low humidities.
The map was current as of 8:55 a.m. MT on Wednesday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
The National Weather Service has posted Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches for areas in Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. Most of the Red Flag areas (in red) expire Tuesday evening, while the Watches (in yellow) are in effect through Thursday.
While the areas identified in Nebraska should experience record high temperatures on Tuesday, all areas have dry fuels, strong winds, and low humidities in the forecast.
The map was current as of 8:08 a.m. MT on Tuesday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
The name of the fire northwest of Boulder is Wagon Wheel Gap Fire.
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Originally published at 10:07 a.m. MT February 10, 2017.
While Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Warnings are in effect in seven states, two fires erupted early Friday morning just outside the warning area in Boulder and Longmont, Colorado.
Before 7 a.m. a grass fire started near the 5000 block of Nelson Road west of Longmont that forced the evacuation of 125 homes. It burned two barns and a haystack before firefighters stopped it at 15 acres.
Just after 8 a.m. a second fire broke out northwest of Boulder near the intersection of Lee Hill Drive and Wagon Wheel Gap Road that required the evacuation of 157 homes. At the last report at 9:10 a.m. it had burned three to five acres.
There is no indication so far that the two fires, 12 miles apart, are related.
The video below shows the fire near Boulder burning in steep terrain.
Strong winds that pushed the fires have also toppled semi-trucks across the state and left 3,960 customers without power in Boulder County.
It is unusual to have wildland fires burn structures and require evacuations only an hour or two after sunrise in mid February. Much of the front range in Colorado has had less snow than usual. When I drove through the area a few days ago there was virtually no snow on the ground near Colorado Springs, Longmont, and Denver, and these are areas above 5,000 feet.
Most of the Red Flag Warnings were issued around 5 a.m. on Friday and will expire at 5 to 6 p.m. local time today, depending on the area.
Map showing the location of fires near Boulder and Longmont, Colorado.
