While we have all enjoyed the record January warmth of recent days but that does come at a price.  The warm temperatures, dry wind and very low humidity have dried much of the area out to a dangerous state. 

Today we have one more warm day before we return to more seasonable weather.  With temperatures climbing into the 60’s, humidity as low as 5 percent and a west wind that will pick up later today, the fire danger is very real.  As we saw a couple weeks ago with the Olde Stage Road Fire, it doesn’t take much beyond a spark to set off a fire that can spread very quickly with as dry as it is.
 
The potentially dangerous conditions have caused the National Weather Service to issue a Red Flag Warning that will be in effect from 11:00am today through 6:00pm this evening. 

Red Flag Warning
National Weather Service, Denver
544 am MST THU JAN 22 2009

……Red Flag Warning today from 1100 to 1800 MST…for Front Range foothill zones 215 and 216 below 8000 feet…and for the I-25 urban corridor zones 238..239..240 and 241 in northeast Colorado…

One more day of unseasonably warm and very dry conditions will be accompanied by periods of gusty Chinook winds resulting in critical wildland fire conditions in and near the front range foothills in northern Colorado. Minimum relative humidities will range from 5 to 15 percent with maximum temperatures in the 60 to 70 degree range. This is as much as 25 degrees above average for the date. Furthermore west winds in and near the foothills are expected to increase later the morning…with gusts this afternoon to 40 mph in the foothills and to 30 mph on the nearby plains.

Fuels are also quite dry in the area with no precipitation in the area for some time. These critical wildland fire conditions are expected to improve this evening with dry downslope winds subsiding…and a shift to a more humid east wind overnight with a weak cold front backing into northeast Colorado.

…Red Flag Warning in effect from 11 am this morning to 6 pm MST this afternoon…

The National Weather Service in Denver has issued a Red Flag Warning…which is in effect from 11 am this morning to 6 pm MST this afternoon.

Unseasonably warm temperatures…gusty west winds and very low relative humidities will combine with very dry fuels to produce critical wildland fire conditions in and near the Front Range foothills late this morning through this afternoon. Foothill areas below 8000 feet and lower elevations west of I-25 are more likely to see these conditions develop.

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring or imminent. Please advise the appropriate officials and fire crews in the field of this Red Flag Warning.