A red flag warning has been issued for parts of East Texas, including Gregg County, as officials say there is an elevated risk of fire today. (Contributed Graphic)

From Staff Reports

With little moisture on the horizon for Northeast Texas through March 19, the region is at elevated risk for a wildfire, according to fire forecasters at the Texas A&M Forest Service.

The National Weather Service in Shreveport issued a red flag warning for several counties in the region Friday, indicating that critical fire weather conditions are present or will develop. The warning was issued at 11 a.m. and was set to expire at 9 p.m. The warning was in effect for Red River, Bowie, Franklin, Titus, Camp, Morris, Cass, Wood, Upshur, Smith, Gregg and Cherokee counties.

On Friday, Tyler had high fire danger. Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue on Thursday night issued an alert, strongly urging residents not to burn Friday.

Smith County experienced very low humidity, low surface fuel moisture, and winds of 15 to 20 mph with gust up to 35 mph which results in unusual and dangerous fire weather conditions throughout the day Friday, Hogue said.

“The most effective way to extinguish a fire is to prevent it,” Hogue said.

By Saturday, nearly all of East Texas will have “moderate” fire danger. However, the city of Tyler and parts of Smith County are projected to continue having very high fire danger.

The weather patterns accelerating the chance of a blaze are expected to continue into the middle of next week.

Smith County Emergency Services District 2 said Friday it has deployed firefighters to Amarillo to assist in battling present house-fires in the area. The three firefighters were already in Lubbock to assist in potential upcoming fires, but have been called north to aid in fires currently burning in the Panhandle, according to Smith County EDS2 Spokesperson Nikki Simmons.

Warm, windy and dry weather is driving the potential for wildfires across the state.

Southwest winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts of up to 40 mph are expected Friday, along with relative humidity between 15% and 20%. Temperatures are project to be in the low- to mid-80s, but regions could have temperatures in the upper 80s.

CBS19 predicts sunrise showers may pop up Saturday morning. Otherwise, the weekend gets off to a breezy, warm start. Temperatures will warm to low 70s Saturday afternoon.

Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly. Outdoor burning is not recommended, meteorologists said.

Though the highest-risk areas are in central and Southwest Texas, Northeast Texas and its large stock of timber fuel can produce larger fires that are difficult to control and contain, fire forecasters said.

Texas A&M fire forecasters use a five-tier fire danger scale to assess relative risk: low, moderate, high, very high and extreme.

Four wildfire prevention tips

While Gregg County has not issued a burn ban as of Friday afternoon, wildfire experts suggest East Texans observe these four tips to decrease the risk of wildfires:

1. Notify authorities as soon as you see smoke or fire so responders can arrive on scene as soon as possible.

2. Avoid burning on dry windy days.

3. Avoid activities with open flames or sparks.

4. If mowing or shredding, avoid contact with rocks or metal objects that could create a spark.