Red Flag fire warning in effect as Clark County braces for potentially ‘historic’ wind event

A Red Flag Warning, signifying extreme fire danger, is in effect in Clark County through Wednesday.

Sunday, the National Weather Service warned of a “historic September east wind event,” with gusts up to 55 miles per hour possible Monday night and Tuesday.

That along with temperatures near 90 degrees and humidity as low as 10 percent mean extreme fire danger for the Northwest.

According to the federal U.S. Drought Portal, almost all of western Oregon and Southwest Washington have received less than 25 percent of normal rainfall over the past month.

Red Flag Warnings are also set to go into effect Monday across much of western Oregon.

“Hot, dry and strong easterly winds are expected starting Monday afternoon, peaking overnight Monday into Tuesday morning, then slowly easing through Tuesday evening,” a National Weather Service bulletin said. “These winds have the potential to reach historic speeds for early to mid September.”

The NWS is forecasting a high of 91 degrees in Vancouver on Monday. A high of 87 is forecast on Tuesday, 92 on Wednesday and 95 on Thursday.

The dry conditions come at a dangerous time as people flock to forest campsites for Labor Day weekend. Campfires are banned or extremely limited in areas under a Red Flag Warning, as is most off-road vehicle use.

As of Sunday evening, there were no fire restrictions in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, though fire danger was listed as High.

There are currently 11 active wildfires in Washington and Oregon, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.

In the Mount Hood National Forest, the White River and Lionshead fires have each burned more than 17,000 acres.

The Evans Canyon Fire near Yakima is the largest active fire in the Northwest, with nearly 76,000 acres burned as of Sunday.