‘Red Flag’ fire weather warning posted for 4th of July

Due to expected gusty winds and very low humidities, the National Weather Service posted a “Red Flag” fire weather warning for the 4th of July. It runs from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. Here is the official bulletin:

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
107 PM MDT FRI JUL 3 2015

MTZ105-107-108-040715-
/O.UPG.KMSO.FW.A.0001.150704T1200Z-150705T0300Z/
/O.NEW.KMSO.FW.W.0001.150704T1200Z-150705T0300Z/
FLATHEAD/GLACIER PARK-SALISH AND KOOTENAI RESERVATION-EAST LOLO-
107 PM MDT FRI JUL 3 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 9 PM MDT SATURDAY FOR
GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES ACROSS THE FLATHEAD/GLACIER PARK...
SALISH AND KOOTENAI RESERVATION...EAST LOLO...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MISSOULA HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES...WHICH IS IN EFFECT
FROM 6 AM TO 9 PM MDT SATURDAY. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO
LONGER IN EFFECT.

* WINDS: SUSTAINED WESTERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO
  40 MPH POSSIBLE.

* MINIMUM HUMIDITIES: SINGLE DIGITS TO LOW TEENS

* TIMING: WINDS WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE ACROSS NORTHWEST MONTANA
  SATURDAY MORNING AROUND SUNRISE... AND THEN SPREAD THROUGH THE
  REMAINDER OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA BY EARLY
  AFTERNOON.

* A DRAMATIC WIND SHIFT FROM WESTERLY TO EASTERLY WILL OCCUR
  SOMETIME AFTER ROUGHLY 1900LT ACROSS THE GLACIER PARK AREA ON
  SATURDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.