Red flag fire warning for Tri-Cities area, just after wildfires contained
A red flag fire warning has been issued for the Tri-Cities and much of central Washington and Oregon, just as major fires that started last weekend around the Tri-Cities are out or contained.
The warning is relatively brief, lasting from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 20.
The National Weather Service put the fire weather risk due to hot temperatures, the wind and low relative humidity at 3 out of 5 – or moderate.
In the Tri-Cities wind gusts as high as 24 mph are forecast during that time. The relative humidity in the region is as low as 9%, according to the weather service.
That means any fires could grow quickly.
The weather service recommends making sure trailer chains are securely attached to prevent them hanging toward the ground, causing sparks.
Benton Fire District 1 upgraded its fire danger level to “very high” earlier this week and said that it had already seen a large number of wildland fires this season with most of the accidentally sparked by metal striking rocks, asphalt or metal.
Tri-Cities weather should cool some through the weekend, cooling from a forecast high of 95 on Friday to 90 on Saturday and 89 on Sunday, according to the weather service. Highs are predicted to be back in the 90s for Monday through Thursday.
Last weekend, fires burned at the Juniper Dunes in Franklin County, south of Wallula Gap in western Walla Walla County and between Benton City and Prosser.
The Benton City fire is out, but not before it destroyed five homes. The Wallula Gap, or Twin Sisters Fire, burned more than 8,200 acres but was contained as of Thursday and had been turned over to Walla Walla County fire agencies as of Thursday.
The Juniper Dunes Fire, 10 miles northeast of Pasco, was contained Thursday at 13,000 acres after burning into the Juniper Dunes Wilderness, and the Southeast Washington Inter-Agency Team turned over firefighting to local agencies Thursday evening, it said.
The perimeter of the fire was cold as of Thursday with remaining hot spots well into the interior of the fire. Most of the firefighting on the fire had to be done with hand tools and planes due to a lack of roads in the area.