Wildfires can mean big dangers to your family and your property. The National Weather Service issues advisories and warnings on a regular basis to help you be prepared for wildfire risk. Here’s a look at some of the alerts that are sent out:

Red Flag Warning

A Red Flag Warning is issued when conditions that could lead to a fire are ongoing or are expected to start shortly. Be extremely careful around open flames!

Red Flag Warnings are often issued when the humidity is very low – the exact percentage of relative humidity varies from location to location depending on climate – coupled with high or erratic winds in the forecast. These two conditions together mean that a small fire (such as burning leaves or a campfire) has the ingredients to burn out of control if not properly monitored.

Not surprisingly, Red Flag Warnings are very common in the summer across the foothills of the Rockies, where the lack of rainfall can keep vegetation in a near-permanent dry state. Thus, strong daytime breezes are sufficient to produce Red Flag-type conditions.

Fire Weather Watch

A Fire Weather Watch is issued when weather conditions that could produce a widespread wildland fire are possible.

Similar to a Red Flag Warning, the watch denotes that dangerous fire conditions – low humidity and windy conditions - are in the forecast, but that these could occur over a larger scale. Often, a Fire Weather Watch is issued 12 to as much as 48 hours ahead of the expected conditions. This allows fire management agencies to be prepared in the event that a wildfire does develop; they can keep it localized and not turn into a giant conflagration.

Extreme Fire Behavior

This rarely-used alert is available in the event that an ongoing wildfire is about to go out of control. The behavior of a fire in these conditions can be quite erratic, making it far more difficult to evacuate people if the fire is heading in their direction.

In order for an Extreme Fire Behavior alert to be issued, at least one of the following must be occurring: high rate of the fire’s spread, making it difficult to predict; significant “crowning” – when the fire is moving through the treetops independently of the surface fire, indicative of extreme heat and fuel just above the surface; presence of fire whirls and fire tornadoes – also an indication of extreme heat and erratic winds above the surface; or strong “convective columns” – clouds from the fire reaching 25 to 30,000 feet, which can produce its own lightning and lead to fresh fire development.

If you have any of these alerts issued for your area, be prepared to take action to stay fire safe!

Source: NWS
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Story Image: A fire whirl takes off during an ongoing wildfire (Wikimedia Commons)

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