Shortly after a red flag warning was issued by the National Weather Service, fire crews from North Platte, Hershey and Wallace are battling a wind-driven grass fire near Range Road and Walker Road.

A Red Flag Warning means conditions are favorable for the rapid development of range fires.

Use caution when operating machinery, discarding cigarettes or using anything that may cause sparks.

RED FLAG WARNING

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON...

.The Red Flag Warning will continue for southwest Nebraska and the
western Sandhills. Relative humidity has lowered into the single
digits with abnormally warm temperatures and gusts in excess of
30 mph. With the setting sun, conditions should improve.

NEZ204-206-210-219-170100-
/O.CON.KLBF.FW.W.0005.000000T0000Z-170317T0100Z/
Eastern Panhandle/Crescent Lake NWR-
Sandhills/Valentine NWR/Nebraska National Forest-Frenchman Basin-
Loess Plains-
258 PM CDT Thu Mar 16 2017 /158 PM MDT Thu Mar 16 2017/

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT /7 PM MDT/
THIS EVENING FOR WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER
ZONES 204, 206, 210, AND 219...

* AFFECTED AREA...Fire weather zone 204. Fire weather zone 206. 
  Fire weather zone 210. Fire weather zone 219. 

* WIND...West to west northwest at 15 to 25 MPH with gusts to 35 
  MPH.

* HUMIDITY...As low as 7 to 15 percent.

* IMPACTS...any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly and show
  extreme behavior.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.