Red flag warning issued for most of eastern Idaho Tuesday

IDAHO FALLS – The National Weather Service in Pocatello is issuing a red flag warning for parts of eastern Idaho Tuesday.

The warning is in effect from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. due to gusty winds and low relative humidity during hot and dry conditions. A red flag warning means that weather conditions make the chances for a fire extremely high.

Meteorologist Kevin Smith tells EastIdahoNews.com the areas of impact include portions of the eastern Magic Valley up through the Snake River Plain and Arco desert. The eastern Central Mountains in the Lost River Valley through Salmon and most of Lemhi County is also included in the red flag warning.

“The entire upcoming week is a hot, dry, windy weather pattern. We’re looking in that pattern for what days are really standing out for the most critical fire weather conditions. Tuesday and Wednesday are the two days we’re watching the closest. We’re looking at very similar conditions on Wednesday afternoon for the same areas,” Smith says.

The red flag warning may extend into Wednesday, depending on how conditions develop over the next 24 hours.

Despite having an unusually wet spring, Smith says grass and bushes have finally dried out and gotten to the point where they’re considered critical and ready to burn.

As of 2:30 p.m. Monday, the NWS is forecasting 20 to 30 mph winds in these areas with gusts up to 50 mph. Relatively humidity is expected to be 15% or lower.

“Another scenario we look for (when issuing) a red flag warning is scattered thunderstorm coverage. You need the prerequisite of the dry fuels so the lightning can ignite those fuels. Thunderstorm activity is more isolated the next few days … so we’re not looking at that (right now),” says Smith.

This is the first time a red flag warning has been issued this year, and the fifth latest time it’s been issued since 2006. The latest time a red flag warning was issued during the year was in 2009, Smith says. Though red flag warnings typically start in June or early July, it didn’t happen until August that year.

With the first red flag warning of the season, Smith is reminding people to be extra careful about starting fires over the next few days.

“Dispose of cigarettes properly, don’t drag chains that create sparks on the ground and follow any burn bans or any other fire guidance that’s in place from local officials,” he says.

A complete seven-day forecast and live weather cams are available here.