High heat, low humidity, moderate winds spur fire weather warnings
Rogue Valley Times staff report
Due to a combination of wind gusts, high temperatures and low relative humidity, the National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings for Friday evening and Saturday for large swaths of southwestern Oregon and a fire weather watch through the weekend in portions of Southern Oregon and Northern California.
The red flag warning is effective between 4 and 8 p.m. today in Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Coos and portions of Douglas counties, according to the Weather Service. It warns of winds between 5 to 15 mph with gusts of up to 20 mph, according to the NWS website.
A second red flag warning goes into effect for Jackson County between 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, July 6, and the county is under a fire weather watch from 2 to 11 p.m. Sunday, July 7.
During a red flag warning, any fires that develop are likely to spread rapidly.
The city of Medford is closing the 1,740 acre Prescott Park while the fire weather warning is in effect. The closure is in effect from 4 to 8 p.m. today and 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Jackson County Emergency Management encourages residents to be familiar with their evacuation plan routes and to prepare an evacuation kit containing important documents and essentials.
The Weather Service warns that winds will be strongest west of the cascades over the Umpqua Divide, across the Siskiyous and Cascades, and near Ashland.
The fire weather watch impacts portions of Klamath, Douglas and Lake counties in Oregon and Siskiyou County, California, Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening.
A fire weather watch is issued when there are weather conditions conducive to fire spread, according to the Weather Service. More specifically, the forecast calls for winds between 10 and 16 mph, gusts of up to 25 mph and humidities as low as 8%.
The Weather Service recommends that locals in affected areas maintain ways to stay informed from emergency officials, and to be prepared with emergency kits. For info, see rvem.org/get-ready-rogue/kit-types.
For links to the latest fire restrictions and information see weather.gov/medford/wildfire. For more info on the forecast, see weather.gov/medford.
This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.
