Critical fire conditions forecasted in Eastern Washington Thursday and Friday

After days of extreme heat and low humidity, Eastern Washington is dry and vulnerable to fire.

With hot and breezy weather forecast for Thursday and Friday, fire crews are expecting critical fire conditions.

“We’ll up staff during that period,” said Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer. “And then modify our responses to meet the risk.”

The National Weather Service Spokane issued a red flag warning for Thursday and Friday. The warning is in conjunction with an excessive heat warning after a record-hot day Tuesday at 102 degrees. The high on Wednesday was 100, a degree short of the record.

After several days of extreme heat and single-digit humidity values, breezy conditions expected late this week are prime fire weather, said weather service meteorologist Charlotte Dewey.

The high for Thursday is forecast at 97 degrees, Dewey said. Friday’s high will be around 93.

Sustained winds are expected between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph.

“Those fire conditions are going to be critical,” Dewey said.

Spokane Fire Department’s operations division plans ahead looking at these forecasts and will often increase staffing levels, Schaeffer said.

When fires do start during a red flag warning, more crews are dispatched to “keep the fires small,” Schaeffer said.

“On a red flag day, the whole tempo is completely different,” Schaeffer said. “We’re in a much more wildland mode.”

Spokane County Fire District 3, which covers the Cheney area and other southwestern parts of the county, also increases staffing to have more available trucks, said Chief Cody Rohrbach.

Coordination between other fire districts, the state and city fire departments becomes even more crucial than usual, Rohrbach said.

He asked the community to be even more aware of their behaviors that could cause a fire. Burn restrictions have been in effect in the Spokane area since late June in hopes of reducing the number of human-caused fires.

Over the weekend, temperatures are expected to cool to the upper- to mid-80s, with the potential for some rain, Dewey said.

More smoke is heading into the region, making for a hazy day on Thursday, said weather service meteorologist Greg Koch. If it clears enough in the afternoon, the temperature could reach 100 a third day in a row.

“The majority of the smoke we are receiving is from British Columbia,” Koch said. “But we also have fires in the North Cascades that are contributing smoke into our region.”

Spokane’s air quality was listed as “moderate” on Wednesday evening, but it was listed as “unhealthy” in many parts of north-central and northeastern Washington, and in Boundary County in Idaho.