PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — KATU has declared a Storm Tracker 2 Weather Alert for high fire danger east of the Cascades on Saturday.
WEATHER | Latest Storm Tracker 2 Forecast
The National Weather Service offices in Pendleton, Oregon, and Spokane, Washington, have issued ‘Particularly Dangerous Situation,’ or PDS Red Flag Warnings for several zones. Areas not under the PDS designation are under standard red flag warnings.
Oregon zones under PDS Red Flag Warnings include:
Zone 700:
- Portions of Deschutes County, including Bend and Redmond.
- All of Crook County, including Prineville.
- Portions of Jefferson County, including Madras.
Zone 691:
- The Lower Columbia River Basin, including Pendleton, Boardman and Rufus.
Zone 696:
- Portions of Wheeler and Grant counties, including John Day.
“This is the first time these particular warnings have been issued by those offices,” Storm Tracker 2 Digital Meteorologist Bobby Corser said. “Strong westerly winds mixed with very low relative humidity will create the potential for rapid fire growth across the region.”
The Storm Prediction Center has placed all of central and eastern Oregon under a critical risk, meaning conditions are favorable for rapid fire growth.
An extremely critical risk will be in place for central and eastern Washington, portions of north-central Oregon and the northern Lower Columbia River Basin. This is the highest of the three fire risk levels. It is the first time the Pacific Northwest has faced an extremely critical risk since Sept. 7, 2020, when the Labor Day fires erupted in Oregon.
“A few large wildfires are already ongoing across this region, and ERCs are noted to be approaching or exceeding the 95th percentile,” the SPC said. “This combination of meteorological and fuel conditions supports an upgrade to Extremely Critical with this outlook issuance.”
A dry cold front will move across the region, bringing strong westerly winds with gusts as high as 45 mph in some locations. Most areas east of the Cascades will see sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts near 40 mph.
“On Saturday, a critical burn environment is expected for east side areas as strong winds align with extremely dry fuels, increasing the likelihood of extreme fire behavior and significant fire growth,” the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center said. “Saturday has potential to be a high impact fire day with major concerns about rapid fire spread and broad safety issues.”
KATU News will continue to monitor the wildfires burning east of the Cascades.
