Critical fire danger through the weekend

Today is the start of our big heat up. We’ll be in the 90s today and will remain in the 90s until next week. Tonight, lows will be in the 40s and 50s. Sunny skies today with wind generally from the east. Gusts today will be around 15-20mph, some areas a little more. Many of the new and big wildfires are east of us, which means we’ll be seeing smoke move in today and hurt our air quality a bit.

Dry air has moved into the region. This, mixed with the very hot temperatures we’re expecting this week, is a bad recipe for firefighters battling all the new wildfires that sparked due to lightning this last Labor Day holiday. Over the last day, some of the new wildfires grew two or three times their size, reaching tens of thousands of acres in a short period of time. The set up will be critical today, with even more favorable conditions for rapid fire growth than they were yesterday.

A ridge of high pressure builds over our region and will park itself here for the week. There will be little relief in the way of heat. Stay safe by being prepared. Temperatures will be 15-20 degrees above normal for this time of year with possible record heat on Friday in Madras and Redmond.

With the first day of school being today for many across Central Oregon, make sure to dress the kiddos for the heat and send them off with plenty of water for the bus ride. Happy first day back to school!

Have a great Wednesday, stay cool and safe!

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