We’ve all heard the term, Red Flag. For me, I normally use that phrase of speech, when talking about a situation. Something on the order of, “When happened, a “red flag” went up. The Red Flag refers to something ominous or foreboding that will happen. Red flags were used literally as early as the 18th century to signal impending floods, or dangerous military exercises going on. It is safe to say the term, Red Flag, has always been connoted with danger.
But the term, Red Flag Warning, is something unique to the western United States as part of weather terminology. Today, the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for Nederland and other parts of the Front Range and foothills, the first one of the season. I had never heard the term nor was I familiar with a Red Flag Warning while living back east. Not surprising, as the weather from the eastern United States is not conductive to Red Flag Warning. In strict terms, a Red Flag Warning means, conditions are ideal for wildfires to start and to spread rapidly. So what kind of conditions lead to a Red Flag Warning? Dry, hot, windy weather with extremely low humidity. And probably the reason, Red Flag Warnings are so common throughout Colorado and the west, and not back east. It is simply too humid during warmer conditions back east for fires to start and spread.
March has been very warm and dry, and today the winds picked up and really started to gust. Even though winter is really not over in the mountains of Colorado, the grasses and vegetation have already started to dry out, and if a fire were to start during a windy day like today, it wouldn’t take much for it to spread quickly.
I’m sure this will be the first of many Red Flag Warnings for the next six months. We are really not out of wildfire danger until the temperatures cool and we get our first good snow storm, usually in October. I have to admit, given all the history we have experienced with fires (more later this year about this), anytime I hear the term, Red Flag Warning, it sets me on edge. It reminds me we can never be too safe, and it’s probably time to prepare for fire season, including putting together our “fire boxes.” You can never get too comfortable or too safe during fire season, when living in the mountains of Colorado.
