This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah already is hacking from "second-hand" smoke wafting in from the blazing forests of California and Washington. Now, the tinder-dry Beehive State faces elevated risks for its own wildfires.
In other words, Smokey the Bear really needs a hug. Rumor has it that the stress of it all has the ursine mascot's fur falling out in clumps. So, when the National Weather Service issues a Red Flag Warning for northwest quarter of Utah, be careful out there.
The advisory, noting gusty winds, very low relative humidity — 6 percent — and dry rangelands and forests, kicked in at noon Friday and was to run through 10 p.m.
A carelessly monitored campfire, a negligently tossed cigarette, even a hot exhaust pipe on an ATV, all could spark a blaze that could quickly spread.
Don't irritate the Bear. Remember, only you can prevent forest fires . . . or Smokey finally snapping, and falling off the vegetarian wagon for some bipedal barbecue.
Along with the fire danger comes hot weather and no precipitation on the horizon. Along the Wasatch Front, daytime highs were to rise into the upper-90s by late Friday afternoon. Highs in the upper-80s were expected on Saturday.
Southern Utahns, near triple-digit highs on Friday, looked for more of the same Saturday. Like northern Utah, Utah's Dixie also was due for 10-20 mph winds during the evening hours.
Back to the out-of-state smoke shrouding Utah: the Utah Division of Air Quality does not have good news for breathing lifeforms this weekend. Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Weber, Box Elder and Cache earn "orange," or unhealthy grades, while Tooele, Washington, Duchesne and Uintah counties were rated at "yellow," or compromised. Only Carbon County had a "green" grade heading into this weekend.
The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website rated chenopods "very high," mold as "high," and sagebrush as "moderate" on its pollen index as of Friday.
For more extensive forecast information, visit the Tribune's weather page at http://www.sltrib.com/weather.
Twitter: @remims