Six States Placed Under Severe 'Red Flag' Fire Warnings Tuesday
While some parts of the country continue to deal with significant snowfall, other states are under a Red Flag Warning for dangerous fire conditions on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued red flag warnings for six states in the center of America through the rest of today as warmer temperatures and high winds have created the potential for serious blazes.
What is a Red Flag Warning?
According to the NWS, a Fire Weather Watch or Red Flag Warning is issued when "the combination of dry fuels and weather conditions support extreme fire danger.
"These products are written for land and fire managers to highlight the increased fire danger," the NWS says. "Each NWS office creates local criteria for fire weather watches and red flag warnings."
A Red Flag Warning is the most severe fire alert the NWS can implement, issued "when the conditions above are expected to occur or are occurring within the next 24 hours."
Meanwhile, a Fire Weather Watch is put into place up to 72 hours before problematic conditions are expected.
Which states are under a Red Flag Warning?
Areas of six states in total are covered:
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Missouri
- New Mexico
- Oklahoma
- Texas
"A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly," says the NWS order. "A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior."
Temperatures in the zones covered under the warning will range from the 60s into the 80s, with wind gusts up to 50 mph.
Fires will "catch and spread rapidly," and any outdoor burning is either discouraged or prohibited.
Fire safety tips to remember
While this Red Flag Warning mostly pertains to outside conditions, the winter months in America are also dangerous for home fires.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, nearly half of all U.S. home heating equipment fires (46 percent) occur between December and February.
Stephanie Berzinski, the Senior Manager of Communications and a Fire Safety Educator at Kidde, recently spoke with Men's Journal about guidelines for people to follow. You can find her full interview here.