'Fire Weather Warning' Issued For Chicago Area

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- While it is more typical to see dangerous storms this time of year, the National Weather Service on Wednesday issued a "fire weather warning."

The NWS issues the warning when conditions could cause a fire to spread quickly.

The so-called "red-flag warning" is in effect until 7 p.m. tonight for east central Illinois and Northwest Indiana.

"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 will create explosive fire growth potential," the National Weather Service said in a statement.

Winds will blow from the east at 15 to 20 mph, with gusts up to 30 mph during the day. Those winds, combined with relative humidity as low as 18 percent create the potential for rapid fire growth.

Extreme caution is urged in any activity involving open flames (smoking, campfires, ditch burning) or that generate sparks (welding, weed-whacking, lawn mowing).

Motorists are also urged to avoid parking on dry grass because the vehicle's components could be hot enough to start a fire in dry conditions.

The warning comes a day after a controlled burn got too close to some homes in Crystal Lake, causing some damage to residential exteriors.