National Weather Service warns of critical fire conditions in northern Arizona this weekend

Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for this weekend in northern Arizona.

Flagstaff meteorologist Jeremy Mazone says the warning began Saturday morning, and critical weather conditions may even continue throughout the week.

“This is due to really prolonged and strong winds out of the southwest that are going to have the potential to really bring some nasty fire weather conditions throughout that period,” said Mazone.

Mazone says to pay attention to fire restrictions, to avoid using open flames and sparks, and to be careful when operating machinery outside.

“It’s gonna take all of us to try and avoid some, potentially, very disastrous fires in our area. This is not only gonna be just this weekend, but continuing into next week, the critical fire weather conditions are very likely to continue,” said Mazone.

The warning applies to Coconino, Yavapai, Apache, and Navajo counties.