The National Weather Service said fire danger will be high today in Southwest Colorado at elevations below 8,500 feet.
“Fuels are incredibly dry, the heat’s going to be there, and the wind will be gusting,” said Jeff Colton, a meteorologist with the Grand Junction office of the weather service. “Those are all the ingredients for a red-flag warning.”
The warning is in effect from noon to 9 p.m. today. The forecast is for a high of 80 degrees, winds at 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph, and a relative humidity of 6 to 11 percent. The relative humidity measurement for a red-flag warning is anything under 25 percent.
The warning has been rated at a Haines Index of 6.
“The Haines Index measures the amount of instability in the atmosphere on a scale of 1 to 6,” Colton said. “A 6 means it’s very favorable conditions for fires that start to take off and create their own atmosphere and weather.”
The National Weather Service also is predicting a high fire danger during the holiday weekend as a persistent dry flow from the southwest continues, but any warnings probably won’t be issued until this afternoon or Friday.
The weather does bode well for the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic on Saturday.
“There won’t be any snow for the Iron Horse this year,’ Colton said. “It will definitely be dry.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
