With extreme fire risk conditions across southern Minnesota this afternoon, April 2, the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for Douglas County and many other counties in the state.
Here is a list of the affected counties: Anoka, Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Carver, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Dakota, Dodge, Douglas, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Hennepin, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Pipestone, Pope, Ramsey, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Stearns, Steele, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Wabasha, Waseca, Washington, Watonwan, Wright and Yellow Medicine.
Later, the list was expanded to include: Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Cass, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Grant, Hubbard, Isanti, Itasca, Kanabec, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake Of The Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Pine, Polk, Red Lake, Roseau, Todd, Wadena and Wilkin.
A Red Flag Warning means the area is experiencing critical weather conditions that are ideal for wildfire, including strong winds and low humidity. Do not burn while the Red Flag Warning remains in effect and check any burning done recently to ensure the fire is out. Any spark could become a wildfire under Red Flag conditions.
The Red Flag Warning expires at 8 p.m. on April 2.
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To stay connected to fire dangers, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources offers this advice:
- Check the statewide fire danger and current burning restrictions webpage, which the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources updates daily.
- Follow @mnforestry (DNR Forestry) on Twitter for up-to-date information on statewide fire conditions.
- Follow @mnics (Minnesota Incident Command System) for information on large wildfires.
