Red Flag Warning Issued for Elbert and Lincoln Counties Through Wednesday Evening
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
NWS Denver has issued a Red Flag Warning for Elbert and Lincoln counties as strong winds and low humidity create critical fire weather conditions through Wednesday.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Red Flag Warning
- Affected area
- Eastern Colorado
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Denver CO
Fire-weather notices describe conditions that can support rapid fire spread; they do not report that a fire is present. Check local emergency sources for any active incident.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Eastern Colorado.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Denver has issued a Red Flag Warning due to critical to extremely critical fire weather conditions. The alert was issued by NWS Denver CO and covers multiple periods of high risk for wildfire activity.
Affected Areas
The warning specifically impacts Fire Weather Zones 246 and 247, which include:
- North and Northeast Elbert County below 6000 feet
- North Lincoln County
- Southeast Elbert County below 6000 feet
- South Lincoln County
What You Should Do
Residents in the affected areas should avoid outdoor burning and any activity that may produce a spark and start a wildfire. Conditions will be favorable for rapid fire spread. A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly. The combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.
Expected Conditions
- Winds: Southwest winds of 20 to 30 mph are expected, with gusts reaching up to 50 mph.
- Relative Humidity: Humidity levels are forecast to drop as low as 12 percent.
- Impacts: Any fires that start will likely spread rapidly due to the high wind speeds and dry conditions.
Timeline
There are two distinct windows for this alert:
- Initial Warning: Effective until 7:00 PM MST this evening, February 17.
- Second Warning: Effective from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM MST on Wednesday, February 18.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Alerts
All Weather Alerts →Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this NWS weather alert.