Red flag fire warning issued for Spokane area on Monday

Strong winds reaching greater than 20 mph are forecast in the Spokane area on Monday, prompting fire concerns for the end of the Labor Day weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for counties west of the Washington/Idaho border beginning at 11 a.m. Monday and lasting through the evening. 

A cold front from Canada will be responsible for the sustained winds, which could gust up to 50 mph at time. Paired with low relative humidity, the weather service is warning about the danger of wildfire spread. 

The cold front is also expected to bring much cooler temperatures to the region. The forecasted high Monday in Spokane is just above 70 degrees, which would be a cooldown of 20+ degrees from Sunday. Daytime highs will climb back into the lower 90s by the end of the week.