8 States Under Red Flag Warnings As Forecasters Caution About Potential Wildfire Risks

Red Flag warnings have been issued for eight states as officials believe windy conditions could trigger wildfires and fuel their spreading in these regions. Officials also urged residents to be vigilant and aware of potential evacuation routes.

Large wildfires are reported in many states due to dry weather conditions. The Bovee Fire in Nebraska, which destroyed nearly 19,000 acres, is now fully contained, but officials warn the smoke from scorched land could spread to nearby areas.

"Critical Fire Weather conditions" are expected "over portions of the Central and Northern Plains through Thursday," the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said in its report Wednesday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in North Platte, Nebraska, warned that a combination of low humidity and "very strong northwest winds" will likely have an effect on wildfire spreading Thursday.

Similar warnings have been issued for Iowa and Kansas also.

"As always, we encourage you to remain vigilant and exercise caution, as wildfires can escalate quickly under these conditions!" the NWS in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, tweeted.

South Dakota residents were told to use fire-resistant landscaping and be aware of potential evacuation routes.

While there are no active fires reported in South Dakota, drought conditions and strong wind gusts have made parts of the state vulnerable to extreme fire danger, said Dr. Darren Clabo, state fire weather meteorologist.

Red Flag warnings in North Dakota effective from Thursday noon through 8 p.m:

• Adams, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke, Burleigh, Dickey, Divide, Dunn, Emmons, Foster, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Kidder, La Moure, Logan, McHenry, McIntosh, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Oliver, Pierce, Renville, Rolette, Sheridan, Sioux, Slope, Stark, Stutsman, Ward, Wells and Williams

Red Flag warnings in Iowa effective through 7 p.m. Thursday:

• Adams, Audubon, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Crawford, Emmet, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Sac, Taylor, Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Ida, Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Woodbury, Monona, Sioux City, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie and Shelby

Red Flag warnings in South Dakota effective through 6 p.m. Thursday:

• Aurora, Beadle, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brule, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Sanborn, Turner, Union Yankton, Brown, Buffalo, Campbell, Corson, Dewey, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, Jones, Lyman, McPherson, Potter, Spink, Stanley, Sully, Walworth, Clark, Codington, Day, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin, Marshall and Roberts

Red Flag warnings in South Dakota effective through 7 p.m. Thursday:

• Badlands Area, Bennett County Area, Butte County Area, Custer County Plains, Eastern Foot Hills, Haakon County Area, Mellette County, Todd County, Northern Foot Hills, Perkins County, Pine Ridge Area, Tripp County, West Central Plains and Ziebach County

Red Flag warnings in Nebraska effective through 7 p.m. Thursday:

• Dakota, Dixon, Adams Village, Buffalo Community, Clay County, Dawson, Fillmore, Franklin, Furnas, Gosper, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Howard, Kearney, Merrick, Nance, Nuckolls, Phelps, Polk, Sherman, Thayer, Valley, Webster, York, Antelope, Boone, Burt, Cedar, Colfax, Cuming, Dodge, Knox, Madison, Pierce, Platte, Stanton, Thurston, Wayne, Butler, Cass, Douglas, Gage, Jefferson, Johnson, Lancaster, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Richardson, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Seward and Washington

Red Flag warnings in Nebraska effective through 8 p.m. Thursday:

• Niobrara Valley, Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, Samuel R McKelvie National Forest, Sandhills, Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska National Forest, Loup Rivers Basin and Loess Plains

Red Flag warnings in Kansas effective through 7 p.m. Thursday:

• Jewell, Mitchelle, Osborne, Phillips, Rooks, Smith, Clay County, Cloud, Marshall, Nemaha County, Ottawa City, Republic City, Riley County, Washington, Anderson, Brown, Coffey, Dickinson, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Lyon County, Morris, Osage, Pottawatomie County, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Allen, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Elk, Ellsworth, Greenwood, Harvey, Labette, Lincoln, Marion, Montgomery, Neosho, Russell, Wilson, Woodson, Atchison, Doniphan, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami and Wyandotte

Red Flag warnings in Kansas effective through 8 p.m. Thursday:

• Bourbon, Cherokee and Crawford

Red Flag warnings in Kentucky effective through 9 p.m. Thursday:

• Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Fulton, Graves, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Muhlenberg, Todd, Trigg, Union and Webster

Red Flag warnings in Oklahoma effective through 8 p.m. Thursday:

• Adair, Cherokee City, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Mayes, Nowata, Osage, Ottawa County, Pawnee City, Rogers, Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington Town area

Red Flag warnings in Missouri effective through 7 p.m. Thursday:

• Andrew, Atchison, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, De Kalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Holt, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Platte, Ray and Worth

Red Flag warnings in Missouri effective through 8 p.m. Thursday:

• Bollinger, Butler, Cape, Girardeau, Carter, Mississippi, New Madrid, Oregon, Perry, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, Stoddard, Wayne, Dunklin, Pemiscot, Crawford, Dent, Iron, Madison, Reynolds, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Washington City, Barry, Barton, Benton, Camden, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Douglas, Greene, Hickory, Howell, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, Maries, McDonald, Miller, Morgan, Newton, Ozark, Phelps County, Polk, Pulaski, St. Clair, Stone, Taney, Texas County, Vernon, Webster and Wright