Dangerous fire weather conditions are affecting large portions of the western United States this week, as a combination of low humidity, gusty winds, and above-normal temperatures create critical fire environments across multiple states. Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches have been issued from the Great Plains through the Rocky Mountains and into the Pacific Coast states.

Current Fire Weather Conditions

The National Interagency Fire Center's latest weather summary highlights several high-risk corridors:

  • Montana and Wyoming eastward into the Upper Great Lakes: Breezy west winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts reaching 30 to 45 mph. Minimum relative humidity dropping to 10 to 25 percent.
  • Eastern New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle: Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph gusting 25 to 35 mph. Relative humidity 5 to 15 percent. Well-above-normal temperatures. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions.
  • Northern California: Widespread gusty winds combined with low relative humidity prompted Red Flag Warnings along the coast and inland foothills through the weekend.

Pacific Northwest Fire Weather Outlook

The NIFC seasonal outlook warns that the Pacific Northwest faces an increasingly aggressive fire weather pattern through the summer. The combination of low snowpack, drying soils, and persistent high-pressure systems is expected to produce repeated periods of Red Flag conditions across eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and southern Idaho beginning in June.

Historically, the Cascade crest has provided some buffer for western Oregon and Washington, but climatologists note that a warmer, drier pattern could push dangerous fire weather further west than typical in 2026. The Yakima Herald reported that Washington state fire managers are describing this year's potential as fires that will be "burning longer and moving faster" than in previous seasons.

What Red Flag Warnings Mean

A Red Flag Warning from the National Weather Service means that critical fire weather conditions — defined as the combination of low relative humidity, strong winds, and critically dry fuels — are either occurring now or expected within 24 hours. Under these conditions, any fire that starts has the potential for rapid spread, making containment extremely difficult.

During Red Flag Warnings, fire managers may implement temporary flight restrictions, restrict or halt prescribed burning operations, and pre-position additional firefighting resources in high-risk areas. The public should treat Red Flag Warning periods as times to completely avoid activities that could cause a spark.

Dry Lightning Threat

Forecasters are also monitoring the potential for dry thunderstorm activity across the region. Dry lightning — storms that produce lightning strikes without sufficient rainfall to wet fuels — is a primary cause of large, rapid-onset wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. The National Weather Service warned earlier this month that dry thunderstorms threatened new fire starts across the Northern Plains, and similar patterns are possible across the Pacific Northwest interior later this summer.

Residents and recreationists are urged to monitor National Weather Service forecasts and fire weather zone forecasts, available at weather.gov, and to check fire restriction status before entering public lands.