Red Flag Warning Issued for Washington, Lincoln, and Elbert Counties in Colorado
This alert is no longer in effect.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).
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The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for parts of the eastern Colorado Plains as high winds and low humidity create critical fire weather conditions.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Red Flag Warning
- Affected area
- Eastern Colorado Plains
- 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 Plains.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Denver CO has issued a Red Flag Warning for portions of the eastern Colorado Plains. This alert indicates that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or are imminent due to a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures.
Affected Areas
The warning specifically covers the following regions:
- Washington County
- North Lincoln County
- North and Northeast Elbert County (areas below 6000 feet)
- This includes Fire Weather Zones 246 and 249.
What You Should Do
Residents in the affected areas are urged to take the following precautions:
- Avoid all outdoor burning.
- Refrain from any activity that may produce a spark and potentially start a wildfire.
- Monitor local forecasts for updates, as conditions are favorable for rapid fire spread.
- Prepare for potential evacuations if a fire starts in your vicinity.
Expected Conditions
Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate as follows:
- Relative Humidity: Dropping as low as 11 percent each afternoon.
- Winds (Sunday and Monday): Southwest winds between 15 to 25 mph, with gusts reaching up to 40 mph.
- Winds (Tuesday): West winds increasing to 30 to 45 mph, with gusts potentially reaching 65 mph.
- Temperature: Above normal temperatures combined with recent dry conditions.
Timeline
- Red Flag Warning: Effective from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM MST on Sunday, February 15.
- Fire Weather Watch (Monday): In effect from Monday morning through Monday afternoon.
- Fire Weather Watch (Tuesday): In effect from Tuesday morning through Tuesday evening, when extremely critical conditions are possible.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
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