High Fire Danger Continues in the Southwest and Oregon

16 Apr 2021, 2:30 am

Warm temperatures, low humidity and strong winds over the last couple of weeks have lead to many brush fires and fire weather alerts in the West. The G22 fire started back on April 3rd on the Fort Apache Reservation near Cibecue, Arizona and has burned more than 2,000 acres.

The fire danger concerns over the next couple days are focused from Arizona into Texas and also in Oregon. Red Flag Warnings are in effect today (Friday) for areas west of the Cascades in Oregon where humidity will fall below 25% this afternoon and the wind will increase.

Fire weather concerns are elevated into Saturday for southeastern Arizona and far southwestern New Mexico.

The severe drought conditions continue over the Desert Southwest. With no meaningful rainfall in the forecast, fire danger will remain high through the coming days.

The contributing factors into a high fire danger include the dry soils and vegetation. The snow has melted across this region (other than in the mountains) and the vegetation has not “greened up” yet, resulting in dry fuels.

In order to prevent fires from spreading rapidly, we need *your* help! Only you can prevent the next wildfire!

For more updates on today’s fire risk, make sure to tune-in to WeatherNation anytime throughout the day.

About the author

Mace Michaels

Mace was born and raised in Minnesota, where his intrigue for weather and broadcasting grew at a young age. His 30 years in broadcasting have taken him all across the Midwest and in the South. During high school and college, Mace first worked at a number of radio stations which helped pay tuition bills and get him ready for a career in television. His first TV Meteorology job was in Wausau, WI, fo... Load Morellowed by stops in Grand Rapids, MI, Fort Myers, FL, Tampa, FL, Cedar Rapids, IA and then across the country on WeatherNation. Mace is one of our Digital Meteorologists, posting weather stories on our website and social media accounts. He is also a game-day Meteorologist for the Minnesota Twins.