(KCBS Radio) - The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for several counties in the North Bay this weekend, saying conditions are ripe for a wildfire.
"The main areas that we're watching are the north and east portion of Sonoma County as well as Napa County," says NWS meteorologist Drew Petersen. Marin County also falls under the warning.
"We're kind of getting overlapping warm temperatures, dry conditions and dusty offshore winds," says Petersen. Temperatures will rise Saturday to around 90 degrees in some areas and evening winds could gust up to 35 miles an hour, drying out fuels and creating hot and dry conditions that will last into Sunday morning.
"That's our real concern," says Marin County Fire spokesman Bret McTigue. "When we have these combination events with offshore winds and low humidity that really sets us up for critical fire weather."
Fire officials across the region are bringing in extra staff to prepare for the weekend conditions.
"We're looking at all the resources in Northern California… making sure they're strategically deployed in the right places," says McTigue. "So if we do get the winds as predicted – the northeast winds – that we have fully staffed resources available."
Officials are also reminding the public to take precautions this weekend.
"We want to make sure that folks are not adding more potential for open flame," says McTigue. He urges people not to use any open flames or do yard work during the warning, and be cautious of dragging chains as even a single spark can ignite into a major blaze.
