Sierra Nevada Red Flag Warning Extended

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the Stanislaus National Forest and the southern Sierra Nevada through 4 PM Friday.

* Affected Area: Fire Weather Zone 221 Stanislaus National Forest west of the Sierra crest and Fire Weather Zone 296 Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon National Park.

* Winds: Five to fifteen mph with gusts up to thirty-five mph, mostly during the overnight and morning hours.

* Relative Humidity: Five to ten percent for ten hours or longer. Many areas will range from the teens to the twenties during the overnight hours.

* Temperatures: Daytime highs from the mid-fifties to the low-seventies. Overnight lows in the low thirties to low fifties.

* Impacts: Increased fire danger. If fire ignition occurs there could be rapid spread and extreme behavior with threat to life and property.

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.