The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a warning for critical fire weather conditions across much of southern New England on Saturday, given the strong winds and low relative humidity in the forecast.
Under NOAA’s “red flag” warning, any fires that start could spread rapidly and become difficult to extinguish, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said in a statement. The warning was in place through 5 p.m. on Saturday.
In Connecticut, the red flag warning was issued for Hartford, Tolland, and Windham counties. It was also issued for all of Rhode Island. In Massachusetts, the warning affected the eastern slopes of the Berkshires and eastward through the remainder of the state, including locations where a snow pack no longer exists.
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Connecticut environmental officials said the state traditionally experiences high forest fire danger from mid-March through May.
There have been several brush fires in recent days, including two on Friday in Southbury and Meriden. The Southbury fire was about 30 acres in size.
DEEP said both fires were contained Friday night and agency staff planned to monitor both sites on Saturday.
