National Weather Service issues first red flag warning of the year for Spokane

Spokane and nearby areas will be under the first red flag warning of the year on Tuesday.

The warning begins at 10 a.m. and is expected to last until 11 p.m. as a dry cold front moves through the area, creating westerly winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph, said Rachael Fewkes, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Coupled with low humidity and another day of temperatures in the 80s, wind can contribute to large-scale fire behavior, according to an announcement from the city of Spokane.

"(Relative humidity) tomorrow is going to fall between 12% and 23% or so, which is very dry, and that makes rapid fire possible with any new or ongoing fire," Fewkes said.

Local agencies have been prepared for extreme fire conditions since early May, the beginning of fire hazard season.

The state Department of Natural Resources put emergency resources and units in place at the beginning of fire season, spokesman Ryan Rodruck said. The dry conditions warn that people need to be vigilant.

"Folks need to do anything possible to prevent sparks on the ground," he said.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department is currently responding to specific calls with brush trucks, which are designed to contain wildland fires, spokesman Patrick Erickson said. The department will also have more crews available on Tuesday to respond to fire calls.

Avista entered fire safety mode on May 20. Power lines that have been disturbed won't automatically re-energize to reduce ignition risks, spokesman David Vowels said. When not in fire safety mode, lines will attempt to re-energize after a disruption. This means outages during fire safety mode will be longer as repairs must be made manually, he said.

Avista is not anticipating Tuesday's red flag warning to cause any power outages, but will closely monitor weather conditions and communicate any changes in service to customers, he said.

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