(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — More than 6 million people in multiple states across the Southwest and South Plains are under red flag warnings Thursday as strong winds and warm temperatures are forecast to increase wildfire threats.
Firefighters in New Mexico, West Texas, Colorado, eastern Arizona, central Kansas and parts of Oklahoma are among the states bracing for critical to extreme threats of wildfires erupting and rapidly spreading.
The entire state of New Mexico is under red flag warnings, including the cities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, which were both under critical threat of fire danger Thursday morning. Other cities in New Mexico that are under extreme risk of wildfires erupting include Silver City, Deming, Los Lunas and Socorro.
“Extremely critical fire weather conditions are expected across much of New Mexico today due to very strong winds combined with a dry airmass,” the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque said in a statement posted on social media.
The NWS said critical fire weather conditions across central and eastern New Mexico will stretch into Friday.
Extremely low relative humidity, ranging 5% to 15%, combined with winds forecast to gust between 45 and 65 mph or higher, could cause any new fires to spread rapidly, officials said.
Much of New Mexico continues to battle severe to extreme drought conditions, which will also exacerbate the fire threat.
The extreme warning means a “threat to life and property from existing or potential wildfires due to weather and fuel conditions,” according to the NWS.
Several wildfires have already erupted across New Mexico this year, including one that ignited in the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico last week. Firefighters responded to the blaze quickly and managed to keep it from spreading beyond three acres, officials said.
On March 19, several wildfires broke out across New Mexico, including the Gail Fire west of the town of Mayhill that burned 235 acres, officials said.
“We’ve been saying that this year’s fire season will potentially be early and significant, and here we are,” Forest Fire Management Officer Brent Davidson of the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico said in a statement earlier this month. “Wildfires do not stop at property boundaries and we hope this puts into focus how important it is for everyone to prepare. Whether you have 10 minutes or 10 hours, you can do something to get ready for wildfire.”
Raging wildfires also broke out in Oklahoma last month, leaving four people dead and more than 140 injured, according to the state’s medical examiner. The multiple Oklahoma fires erupted amid gusty winds, low humidity and dry vegetation. More than 400 homes and structures were destroyed and at least 170,000 acres burned across the state of Oklahoma.
ABC News’ Shawnie Caslin Martucci contributed to this report.
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