The National Weather Service offices in Medford and Pendleton on Friday afternoon issued Fire Weather Watches covering a combined area of all Oregon counties east of the Cascade Mountains, and the SW Oregon counties of Josephine, Jackson, Klamath and Lake Counties.
A Fire Weather Watch is an alert level below a Red Flag Warning, designed to alert the public and fire safety agencies that conditions may be developing within the next few days that have increased potential for wildland fire ignition and spread.
Forecasts call for extreme high temperatures on Saturday, with thunderstorm activity predicted for Saturday night through Monday.
Forecasters are not sure where fire potential will be highest, and what times or locations thunderstorm activity may be most concentrated. But forecasters with the Medford NWS office expressed it this way:
IT IS TOO EARLY TO SAY EXACTLY WHERE STORMS WILL BE CONCENTRATED…BUT STORMS MAY INCREASE IN COVERAGE OVER ANY AREAS WITHIN THE WATCH. THE MOST LIKELY LOCATIONS TO SEE SIGNIFICANT LIGHTNING ARE OVER THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINS LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY AND THE OREGON MOUNTAINS AND EAST SIDE SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY NIGHT.
Key messages for public members:
Please be careful with fire and reduce the potential for human-caused fires, both in the forest and wildland-urban interface areas of Oregon.
Need to mow the yard this weekend?
The early morning, when there’s still a little dew left on the grass, is the best time of day to use gas-powered equipment.
Remove any rocks that might be hit with the mower blade.
Wait until the equipment has cooled before adding fuel.
Keep a fire extinguisher or bucket of water close by, just in case.
Around the home
- Dispose of smoking materials in an ashtray, not the roadway.
- Supervise your backyard barbecues and fire pits, and have a hose nearby in case of fire.
- Keep lighters and matches out of reach of children and instruct them that these are tools for adults only.
Additional tips for preventing forest fires and fires in wildland-urban interface areas are available on the Keep Oregon Green website, www.keeporegongreen.org
Kevin Weeks / ODF Public Affairs Office