Red Flag Warnings are in effect across six states Thursday as a dangerous convergence of high winds, critically low humidity, and above-normal temperatures raises the threat of rapid fire spread from the Texas plains to the northern Rockies. The National Weather Service has issued 10 active alerts covering portions of Arizona, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Texas, and Utah.
Conditions are most extreme across Arizona’s Little Colorado River Valley and Painted Desert, where the National Weather Service is forecasting minimum relative humidity between 7 and 14 percent — levels at which fine fuels become highly receptive to ignition. South winds of 15 to 25 mph, with gusts reaching 35 to 45 mph, are forecast from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. MST. The agency warns that any new or existing fires will have the potential to exhibit extreme fire behavior under those conditions.
In far western North Dakota, afternoon temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 80s to mid 90s while relative humidity drops as low as 15 percent. South to southeast winds around 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph are forecast through this evening, creating what the National Weather Service describes as critical fire weather conditions.
In Colorado and Utah, warnings were expanded Thursday to include additional fire weather zones — Colorado Fire Weather Zone 292 and Utah Fire Weather Zone 491 — as gusty winds and low humidity combine with dry fuels across the Southeast Utah, Paradox Valley, Eastern Uintah Basin, and Book Cliffs areas. The National Weather Service office in Grand Junction placed the warning in effect from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. MDT, and has already issued a Fire Weather Watch for Friday covering overlapping terrain.
North Texas faces elevated risk through the afternoon as well, with warnings blanketing more than a dozen counties in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan corridor — including Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Parker, Hood, Johnson, Ellis, and Kaufman counties. Residents in the Dallas weather area should expect heightened ignition risk during peak heating hours.
In Montana, alerts cover the Fort Peck Reservation and Daniels, Roosevelt, and Sheridan counties in the northeast, along with Dawson, McCone, Prairie, Richland, and Wibaux counties. The Billings weather area is within the broader zone of elevated concern as the pattern affects much of the eastern part of the state.
The National Weather Service advises residents across all affected regions to avoid open flames and sparks, keep vehicles off dry grass, properly dispose of cigarette butts, and refrain from using power equipment that generates sparks. Burn bans and fire restrictions should be followed strictly while warnings remain active.