The National Weather Service in Portland expanded its Red Flag warning to include a swath of Western Washington and Oregon that stretches from Puget Sound south to Glendale in Oregon. The Red Flag warning — in effect through 11 p.m. Wednesday — is in addition to a heat advisory already in effect for Clark County, the Portland-metro area and Southwest Washington.
Hot, dry, unstable and windy conditions are increasing the risk of fire, NWS Portland said on the website. “A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of the above conditions can contribute to extreme fire behavior.”
Expect winds 6 to 14 mph from the north with gusts up to 30 mph, the agency said. “Strongest winds developing this afternoon, persisting well into tonight. Winds diminishing for a few hours Wednesday morning, then increasing west-northwest winds 6 to 14 mph with gusts up to 30 mph late Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night.”
Clark County can expect temperatures of 95 to 100 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday. The hottest temperatures will be across portions of the Portland, Vancouver, Hillsboro, and Salem metropolitan areas, NWS said.
