Red Flag Warnings blanketed 12 states Saturday as the National Weather Service posted 88 active fire-weather alerts, up from 73 a day earlier and the broadest geographic spread this week. California, New Jersey, Nevada and Utah joined the warning list overnight, while Tennessee dropped off — pushing the footprint from nine states to a dozen: California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The addition of New Jersey and New York alongside entrenched Western and Northern Plains warnings underscores how widespread dry conditions have become; fire-weather alerts along the Northeast corridor are uncommon even at the height of summer.
The most extensive coverage remains in Wyoming, where the National Weather Service has flagged fire weather zones 417 through 433 for west to northwest winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph Saturday and again Sunday, easing only overnight to 5-10 mph. Daytime minimum relative humidity is forecast to fall to between 5 and 10 percent Saturday — conditions the agency says combine with warm temperatures and dry fuels to produce critical fire weather across zones from the Bighorn Basin to the Sweetwater County and Rock Springs BLM lands.
In the Pacific Northwest, a dry cold front sweeping through Saturday will bring breezy west to southwesterly winds, strongest near the Cascades and Western Columbia Basin by evening. The National Weather Service says low afternoon humidity, only poor to fair overnight humidity recovery, hot temperatures and very dry fuels will produce critical fire conditions across zones stretching from the East Washington Central Cascades and Methow Valley to the Waterville Plateau and Columbia Basin.
Montana and Wyoming account for the bulk of newly listed zones, including the Helena and Lewis and Clark national forests, the Lower Missouri River Breaks near the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, and Yellowstone National Park. Warnings also continue across Colorado’s high plains and mountain zones bordering Wyoming, from the Laramie Range to the Sierra Madre.
The National Weather Service says a Red Flag Warning means critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or expected shortly, and that any spark under these conditions can spread rapidly.
With 88 alerts now active — 15 more than Friday — and four new states added in a single day, the fire-weather footprint shows no sign of contracting as the weekend progresses. Residents around Denver weather and Seattle weather should expect elevated fire danger through the weekend as winds stay gusty and humidity stays low.