From the Department of Natural Resources: Report forest fires at 800-562-6010.
Thunderstorms bearing lightning strikes detected 40 miles off the coast of Grays Harbor at 10 a.m. today are expected to roll on to the coast by noon and Clallam and Jefferson counties by this afternoon, the National Weather Service said this morning.
“The greatest threat of lightning is this afternoon,” fire weather forecaster Andy Haner said.
A red flag alert, which indicates extreme fire danger due to lack of rain, will continue in effect for the western side of the North Olympic Peninsula from Lake Crescent west through 11 p.m. today and the eastern side of the North Olympic Peninsula from Lake Crescent through Port Townsend until 5 a.m. Sunday, Haner said.
“I’m pretty sure by the time the expiration times come around, the lightning threat will have ended,” he said.
The thunderstorms are expected to produce less than the quarter-inch of rain that is normally needed to pierce a forest canopy and dampen the tinder-dry forest floor, Haner said.
It’s been about a month since it’s rained a quarter inch in Clallam and Jefferson counties, Haner said.
The latest Weather Service warning:
URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
855 AM PDT SAT AUG 18 2012
…LIGHTNING EVENT ON SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO START NEW FIRES…
.ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD
ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN WASHINGTON TODAY WITH ONLY SMALL AMOUNTS OF
RAINFALL. LIGHTNING IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE COAST AND OLYMPIC
PENINSULA IN THE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON…THEN THE LIGHTNING
THREAT WILL EXPAND EAST TO THE CASCADES BY LATE AFTERNOON AND
EVENING…POSSIBLY LINGERING OVER THE CASCADES THROUGH THE NIGHT.
GIVEN VERY DRY FUEL CONDITIONS… LIGHTNING HAS THE POTENTIAL TO
START NEW WILDFIRES. ONLY THE IMMEDIATE COAST AND LOWER CHEHALIS
VALLEY ARE LEFT OUT OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING DUE TO THE LIKELY
MOISTENING OF FINE FUELS FROM THE PAST TWO DAYS OF MARINE AIR.
HOWEVER…COASTAL LOCATIONS HAVE THE SAME RISK OF LIGHTNING AS
OTHER WESTERN WASHINGTON LOCATIONS.
WAZ653>659-661-662-190000-
/O.CON.KSEW.FW.W.0003.120818T1900Z-120819T1200Z/
STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA AND NORTHWEST INTERIOR LOWLANDS-
CENTRAL AND SOUTH PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS-
BLACK HILLS AND SOUTHWEST INTERIOR LOWLANDS-
NORTHEAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS GENERALLY BELOW 1500 FEET-
SOUTHEAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS GENERALLY BELOW 1500 FEET-
WEST SLOPES OF THE NORTH CASCADES GENERALLY ABOVE 1500 FEET-
WEST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL CASCADES GENERALLY ABOVE 1500 FEET-
EAST PORTION OF THE OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS-
EAST PORTION OF NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK/LAKE CHELAN NATIONAL
RECREATIONAL AREA-
855 AM PDT SAT AUG 18 2012
…RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 5 AM PDT
SUNDAY FOR LIGHTNING FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 653…654… 655…
656…657…658…659…661 AND 662…
* THUNDERSTORMS…ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE INTERIOR OF WESTERN WASHINGTON ON
THIS AFTERNOON…THEN SPREAD INTO THE CASCADES ON SATURDAY
EVENING.
* IMPACTS…LIGHTNING WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO START NEW
FIRES. THE EFFICIENCY WITH WHICH THE LIGHTNING STARTS NEW
FIRES IS EXPECTED TO BE HIGH.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A RED FLAG WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN DRY LIGHTNING OR THE COMBINATION
OF STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
