The National Weather Service has posted a Fire Weather Watch for much of southwest Oregon and northwest California late Wednesday.
The Fire Weather Watch calls for the chance of abundant lightning on dry fuels, resulting in the potential for numerous fire starts in the Rogue and Illinois valleys in Oregon as well as the Shasta Valley and Siskiyou County in California.
Scattered to widespread thunderstorms with widespread lightning are possible. The storms are likely to be wet, but lightning strikes outside of precipitation cores are possible with cause for concern for new fire starts. Wind gusts of 35 to 50 miles per hour could travel outward up to 25 miles from thunderstorm cores.
Residents in the affected areas are urged to follow all fire restrictions. Avoid any activities that could cause sparks.
A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditions are possible during the valid watch time. These conditions could promote the rapid spread of fire which could become property- and/or life-threatening.
Check for forecast updates and a possible upgrade of the Watch to a Red Flag Warning.
