The National Weather Service is warning of an increased fire danger threat Wednesday afternoon for parts of central North Carolina through 8 p.m. The western half of eastern North Carolina is also at risk.
Forecasters say low relative humidity combined with dry fuels and breezy conditions could allow fires to get out of control easily. Wind gusts could reach up to 35 miles per hour.
鈥淚ncreased fire danger conditions expected tomorrow on Friday,鈥� said Barrett Smith, a hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Raleigh. 鈥淭hings could get windy and dry enough on Saturday, where we could see red flag warning conditions."
, Smith said those increased fire danger conditions could last through the entire weekend. Due to the increased fire risk, the North Carolina Forest Service has issued a for all NC counties. It takes effect 8 a.m. Friday until further notice. Meanwhile, Smith said the next chance of rain could come early next week.
According to the NC Forest Service, there were more than 800 wildfires between the last week of February and the first week of March in North Carolina. One of the worst was a fire that burned more than 600 acres in .
