Red Flag Warning Issued: Dangerous Wildfire Conditions in Arkansas

March has always been windy, but the last two weeks have seemed more windy than usual. With that being said, meteorologists from THV11 in Little Rock are reporting that all of Arkansas is under a high wildfire threat with several counties now under a burn ban until further notice.

Wildfire Danger in Arkansas

Wildfire danger levels in Arkansas are determined on a scale of 1- 4 and the current weather conditions put Arkansas at level 3. Wildfire levels are determined to be low, moderate, high, and extreme. Currently, at level 3, the state is at a high risk of a dangerous wildfire.

Red Flag Warning - What It Means

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the entire state meaning that fire weather conditions are occurring or will shortly. The warning will remain in effect for most of today (Wednesday) from 10 AM to 7 PM. Strong winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of 40 mph will be prevalent this afternoon and shift to a northwesterly direction. With the relatively low humidity and no rain expected until possibly Sunday, conditions are prime for wildfires. If a fire were to break out it would spread quickly with the windy dry conditions.

Most counties in northern and central Arkansas are currently under a red flag warning while 3 counties in the southern central portion of Arkansas is under the warning.

See Map of Burn Bans here

See Map of Red Warnings here.

On Monday afternoon, residents living in Pulaski County were temporarily evacuated when a wildfire broke out scorching 1,900 acres. Fire Department officials from around the area have been battling the blaze non-stop and as of Tuesday afternoon, about 70 percent had been contained.

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