There's an elevated wildfire risk across much of Michigan.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for Monday, which means weather conditions have increased the risk of fire.
Jaclyn Anderson is the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Detroit. “Today is not a good day to burn any debris, or burn your fields off or anything because the combination of the low humidity, warmer temperatures, and gustier winds could result in that fire getting out of control quickly,” she said.
Fire danger is higher than normal across the entire Lower Peninsula and in the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula. According to a map shared by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, these areas are labeled as “very high” for fire risk.
Paul Rogers is a fire prevention specialist for the state Department of Natural Resources.
“Just don’t burn today, please," he said. "Wait until we get some rain. And always check with your local authorities to see if they’ll allow any burning with a burn permit.”
Rogers said the changing winds add to the risk: “When a fire does escape it’s hard to contain."
For many areas, the red flag warning is in effect until 6 or 8 p.m. Monday. Anderson said it’s not likely that the warning will continue overnight.
“Typically the critical conditions usually fall off in the late evening hours because that’s when we start to see the relative humidity start to come up," she said. "It is pretty rare, at least here in Michigan, to see a red flag Warning go all throughout the night as well.”
State officials said people can stay safe and protect their communities from wildfire by avoiding activities that could cause sparks, keeping a water source on hand, and delaying burning until weather conditions are safer for open flames.
