The NWS has issued a Red Flag Fire Warning for many counties in Oklahoma and some counties in adjacent states. This is a very serious situation.

Please report all signs of fire to local emergency officials immediately, whether you're in a county that has a Red Flag Fire Warning today or not. No one should be doing any outdoor burning in these conditions.

The counties highlighted in hot pink on the linked map are the ones with the warning, but just because your county might not have the warning doesn't mean you're completely out of danger, just that all of the criteria for a Red Flag Fire Warning are not expected in your county, even if your conditions are very similar to a county next door that has a warning. We've had plenty of dangerous and destructive fires this week on days that had no Red Flag Fire Warning.

You can click on any county on the map to read all the weather forecast data, including the text of the Red Flag Fire Warning. In my county, the warning is in effect from 10 am to 10 pm and that likely is the timing for all affected counties, but sometimes they will vary the timing a little in different parts of the state, so check the text of the warning for your county, and watch for updates and revisions throughout the day.

What I do, if there is a fire approaching my house, is to turn on sprinklers on the sides of the house between our house and the approaching fire. It is no guarantee that fire won't get to your property, but having the grass around the house wet does help prevent ignition or slow down any fire that starts.

Also, please note that many areas still have the usual heat advisory or excessive heat warning and/or air quality alerts in place in addition to the Red Flag Fire Warning.

It is bad enough all our plants are being roasted by the sun and heat, now we have to worry that they literally will burn up.

Finally, remember that the NWS will, at the request of county emergency management directors, set off the alert tone on your weather radio if fire evacuations are occurring in your area. Be sure your alert tone feature is turned on so you will not miss a warning alert.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: NWS Map Showing Red Flag Fire Warning Area