UPDATE: The Fire Weather Watch has been upgraded to a Red Flag Warning from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. this evening. All outdoor burning is strongly discouraged. Expect wind gusts to 50 miles per hour, humidity as low as seven percent, and temperatures in the upper 70s.

Original Article:

The National Weather Service has issued a Fire Weather Watch for Thursday (February 18, 2016) morning through Thursday afternoon for much of southeast Colorado.

A Fire Weather Watch is issued when gusty winds, low humidity and dry fuels are expected. Any fires that develop are likely to spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is discouraged, and the watch may become a Red Flag Warning.

West to southwest winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour are expected, with gusts to 40 mph. Humidity is forecast to drop as low as nine percent.

The Watch includes Fremont, El Paso, Pueblo, Huerfano, Las Animas, Crowley, Otero, Kiowa, Bent, Prowers and Baca Counties in Colorado, as well as most of Kansas, and portions of Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.