Special Wildfire Danger Alert Issued For East Texas

The National Weather Service has released a statement concerning wildfire danger for extreme southeast Oklahoma, southwest and south-central Arkansas, northern and central Louisiana, and East Texas (including Lufkin and Nacogdoches). A late-season cold front has brought elevated fire weather conditions to this area.

What Does This Mean Concerning Outdoor Burning in Deep East Texas?

Most of East Texas is considered to be in a moderate-to-severe drought. As of this posting, county-wide burn bans are in place for Shelby, Tyler, Jasper, and Newton Counties. Even though no burn bans are in place for cities such as Lufkin, Nacogdoches, Crockett or San Augustine, outdoor burning today is highly discouraged.

Today, from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m., weather conditions will be favorable for wildfire growth. The relative humidity this afternoon is expected to be between 20-30%. That will feel great for afternoon activities, but it's added fuel for possible fires. Also, sustained northeast to east winds around 10-15 mph are expected with gusts up to 20 mph.

Even though we've had scattered rains of the past two weeks, the east Texas area is considered critically dry. The weather conditions will support the spread of wildfires, so outdoor burning and activities that involve open sparks or flames are discouraged. Please report all wildfires to local law enforcement as soon as possible.

Rainfall On The Horizon

The good news is that rain chances in East Texas will be on the rise by Wednesday of this upcoming week. While the heaviest rainfall accumulations are expected in Arkansas and Missouri, the Pineywoods of Texas is expected to have widespread amounts of an inch or more of rain over the next week.