Red Flag Warning issued for Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The National Weather Service in Reno has upgraded its previous fire weather watch to a Red Flag Warning. This will be in effect from 11:00 p.m. Saturday, July 3 to 11:00 a.m. Sunday, July 4 for Lake Tahoe, Truckee and nearby counties.

No flames of any kind are allowed in the Lake Tahoe Basin during the warning - no barbecues, no fire pits, no campfires.

Affected Area for the Red Flag Warning...Fire Zone 271 Western Lassen, Eastern Plumas, and Eastern Sierra Counties, Fire Zone 272 Greater Lake Tahoe and Truckee Area, Fire Zone 421 Southern Sierra Front including Alpine, Northern Mono, Southern Lyon and Western Mineral Counties.

Thunderstorms...Dry, fast-moving thunderstorms could form late Saturday evening and sweep northward through Sunday morning.

Outflow Winds...Gusts to 40 mph will be possible.

Impacts...Little to no rainfall with these storms will promote a higher potential for multiple new fire starts from lightning, and may combine with strong outflow winds to cause a fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity before first responders can contain them.

Check weather.gov/reno for updates and livingwithfire.info for preparedness tips.