Fire danger looms in the West with forecasts of lightning and wind

A counterintuitive recipe for wildfires is brewing across drought-stricken Western states: a cold front

A counterintuitive recipe for wildfires is brewing across drought-stricken Western states: a cold front.

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Forecasters expect the large cold front to develop in the Pacific Northwest on Thursday then push southeast into the Intermountain West, creating dry lightning along the storm’s leading edge. The lightning could spark fires, and powerful winds throughout the weekend could spread any new blazes while exacerbating others already burning.

“We have high risk for lightning moving across southern and eastern areas today and tomorrow, followed by several days of strong winds,” Basil Newmerzhycky, a forecaster for the Great Basin Coordination Center, said Wednesday in an online briefing. The Salt Lake City-based center organizes firefighting resources for the Intermountain West, a region that includes parts of Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.