Weather Service issues fire warning for Spokane, surrounding areas

With rain and cooler weather just shrinking visages in summer’s rearview mirror, the National Weather Service has issued a wildfire warning for much of Spokane County and nearby counties to the south and west.

The National Weather Service’s Spokane office issued a red flag warning – meaning there will be high temperatures, dry conditions and steady winds that pose a fire danger – from 1 to  8 p.m. today.

Any new fires in a grassy area could spread rapidly, forecasters warned.

The area covered by the warning is broad, including Spokane County, the Palouse, and the Methow and Okanogan valleys. Much of central Washington had already been under a red flag warning prior to Friday’s announcement.

The warning does not include north Spokane County, but covers the cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley, and the entire southern half of the county.

Winds are expected to blow at about 15 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph on Friday.

After the brief respite from heat, temperatures are expected to climb through the weekend and into early next week. The high temperature is expected to reach 90 degrees again today and climb to 97 degrees by Tuesday, according to forecasters.