Red Flag Warnings issued for Montana as wildfires burn across the West
By Ben Hooper Sept. 10, 2017 at 2:47 PM
Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Central and north-central Montana were under Red Flag Warnings Sunday until midnight, as dry and windy weather made for unpredictable fire conditions.
The National Weather Service said elevation-dependent wind gusts reading 30-45 mph, combined with low humidity and dry thunderstorms, led to Red Flag Warnings being issued for multiple counties, including Cascade, Fergus, Judith Basin, Lewis and Clark, Meagher, Glacier, Liberty, Pondera, Teton and Toole.
Firefighters from the Osage Nation in Oklahoma traveled to Montana on Sunday morning to assist with battling the wildfires that have ravaged the state for months. The firefighters were recruited by the Flat Head reservation in Montana, which often sends its own firefighters during the winter months to assist with wildfires in Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Saturday that firefighters in the state were taking advantage of lower temperatures, higher humidity and lighter winds to take a more aggressive approach to fighting the Eagle Creek Fire, which authorities said was sparked Sept. 2 by a 15-year-old boy playing with fireworks. The fire was burning across 33,682 acres as of Saturday and the nearly 1,000 personnel working in Oregon had the wildfire 7 percent contained.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/09/10/Red-Flag-Warnings-issued-for-Montana-as-wildfires-burn-across-the-West/5591505063661/
Edited to add: A Red Flag Warning is a forecast warning issued by the United States National Weather Service to inform area firefighting and land management agencies that conditions are ideal for wildland fire combustion, and rapid spread.
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