Elevated Fire Danger

The National Weather Service has issued a RED FLAG WARNING for Stephenson, Jo Daviess, Carroll, and Whiteside Counties from 10am through 7pm on Monday with extreme fire conditions likely. This advisory is issued when there is an "extreme fire danger" due to dry weather, windy conditions, long stretches of dry weather, and dry soil.

With the recent dry stretch and lack of rainfall, the windy conditions expected Monday afternoon will result in an elevated fire risk for the western portions of the Stateline. Therefore, outdoor burning is highly discouraged in the counties outlined in pink above. However, just because your county is not highlighted in pink does not mean there is not an elevated fire risk. It would not surprise me to see some more of the region be put under a Red Flag Warning before Monday afternoon gets here as high winds are expected across the entire area tomorrow.

With the winds expected to gust upwards of 30-40mph, any spark that ignites into a fire will spread rapidly and be difficult to put out. If you must work with any sort of flammable substance or fire tomorrow, make sure to take extra precautions.