Strong winds and dry conditions in southeastern Colorado pose a critical wildfire risk on Tuesday, forecasters with the National Weather Service said.
The weather service said winds could gust up to 65 mph and humidity levels could drop to single digits across parts of the southern Front Range, the San Luis Valley and portions of Otero and Las Animas counties.
That combination means wildfires could ignite easily and spread quickly. The risk is expected to increase in the afternoon as humidity levels drop, forecasters said.
The most dangerous conditions are expected in a small “critical” region that extends east from Rocky Ford to Las Animas, south to the Colorado-New Mexico Border, data from the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center show.
A separate assessment from the National Interagency Coordination Center — a federally directed consortium of land managers that manage wildfire response — shows a moderate risk for wildfires across the region.
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