A red flag warning is in effect for parts of Shasta, Trinity and Tehama counties today. The National Weather Service declared the warning until 8 p.m. in response to low humidity and lightning storms that elevate the risk of wildfire.
Even though some of the lightning storms will also bring rain, Cal Fire Chief Dan Collins said it won't be enough moisture to reduce the risk of fire.
"If you have a system that comes in and drops a little bit of rain and some lightning, then we are concerned," Collins said. "That little bit of rain, whatever that metric would be, a small amount of rain isn't enough to kind of keep the fuels moist and to tamp that fire down."
"[For] all-terrain vehicles, making sure your spark arresters are good, not parking in dry grass. Making sure that your campfires are fully extinguished and cool to the touch before you leave."— Dan Collins, Cal Fire Chief
Collins says Cal Fire is prepared to respond should any fires break out.
"We have extra resources staffed up in Northern California," he said. "We have all of our hand crews on 24 hours a day, as well as our bulldozers. We also have a couple of reserve engines staffed up as well in anticipation of potential activity."
Fire officials are urging residents to be extra careful during the warning, especially when relaxing or cooking outdoors.
A Red Flag Warning goes into effect today at 11am through 8 PM Tuesday for the northern Coast Range, Shasta County mountains, southern Cascades and Burney Basin. Lightning from isolated to scattered thunderstorms may lead to new fire starts. Remain weather aware! #cawx pic.twitter.com/3buu8E9L45
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) June 30, 2025
"[For] all-terrain vehicles, making sure your spark arresters are good, not parking in dry grass," Collins said. "Making sure that your campfires are fully extinguished and cool to the touch before you leave."
The National Weather Service is continuing to monitor weather conditions in the area, and could expand the red flag warning if the conditions persist.
