Eleven counties in North Texas have fire weather warnings in effect Wednesday as gusty winds and very low humidity are expected through the area.
“The fire danger will be high Wednesday during the day," NBC 5 Meteorologist Samantha Davies says. "At night, wind speeds will be lower and the humidity slightly higher so fire danger isn’t as much as a concern.”
Fire weather warnings are in effect for the counties of Cooke, Denton, Erath, Hood, Jack, Montague, Parker, Somervell, Tarrant, Wise and Palo Pinto.
Wind speeds are expected to reach up to 30 mph Wednesday afternoon.
"Contact your local fire department if you see smoke or fire," Davies says. "These weather conditions can lead to grass fires rapidly spreading."
Denton County Judge Mary Horn instated a local disaster declaration Tuesday for threat of wild fires due to dry conditions. The risk of large and destructive wildfires leave lives, property and homes in danger, Horn said.
The mandatory burn ban will eliminate all outdoor burning, restrict hot work like welding and cutting torch operations, and the use of combustible materials. Violation of the ban is a class C misdemeanor.
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Denton County has experienced an increase in wildfires this season with several incidents, Horn said.
“Prevention of potential wild fires is essential to the safety of County residents. Wildfires can be devastating and difficult on everyone, especially farmers and ranchers,” Horn said. “Wildfires can destroy not only lives and property, but livelihood as well. With everyone’s help we can make our communities a safer place to live and enjoy life.”
NBC 5 Forecast:
After a cold start, temperatures will warm nicely into the 60s later today under sunny skies. Wednesday will be our warmest day of the week with highs in the 70s. The fire danger will be high through Wednesday due to the gusty winds and very low humidity. A cold front arrives Thursday ushering in cooler weather, but little in the way of rain.
TODAY: High fire danger. Mostly sunny, windy, and warmer. Low: 44. High: 73. Wind: S/SW 20-30 mph.
THURSDAY: Partly cloudy, breezy and cooler. Low: 50. High: 63. Wind: N 10-20 mph.
FRIDAY: Partly cloudy and colder. Low: 36. High: 52. Wind: NE 5-10 mph.
SATURDAY: Partly cloudy and cool. Low: 39. High: 58. Wind: S 10-20 mph.
SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low: 41. High: 54. Wind: N 10-20 mph.
MONDAY: Mostly cloudy and colder with a 20% chance of light rain. Low: 32. High: 47. Wind: N 5-10 mph.
TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low: 36. High: 58. Wind: S 10-15 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy. Low: 39. High: 58. Wind: N 10 mph.
THURSDAY: Partly cloudy. Low 39. High 60. Wind: S 10-20 mph.
