Wildfire Concerns Starting Sunday Afternoon - Canceled

UPDATE - As of 8/3/09 7 am, the Fire Weather Watch for our area has been canceled.

The big heatwave it over. Now come the wildfire threats. The record temperatures this week dried out our forests making good fuel for potential fires. The Weather Service predicts that a low pressure zone now off the Northern California Coast is likely to generate thunderstorms without a lot of moisture. Heavy lightning is predicted and that is likely to cause wildfires.

The greatest risk right now is to the Oregon Cascades and foothills and the Lane County, Oregon portion of the Coast Range. However, as the low pressure system moves closer the wildfire risk will spread to most of Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington. Thunderstorms are expected to arrive in Clark County and Southwest Washington late Sunday and into Monday.

The Weather Service has issued Fire Weather Watch for the region for Sunday afternoon through Tuesday. For the latest fire weather information, check out the National Weather Service Fire Weather site. The best place to follow wildfire incidents is at http://www.inciweb.org/