Red Flag Warning raises fire danger across Stutsman County

West winds howling across Stutsman County on Friday pushed grass, ditches and field edges into a dangerous fire state, with humidity in the teens and gusts reaching 55 mph across the James River Valley. The National Weather Service in Bismarck said those conditions made it possible for any fire that started to spread rapidly and become difficult to control or suppress.

The Red Flag Warning covered western and central North Dakota from 10 a.m. Thursday, May 14, through 9 p.m. Friday, May 15, and included Stutsman County and Jamestown. Forecasts called for west winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 55 mph and relative humidity as low as 18 percent. A separate Wind Advisory for Stutsman County remained in effect until 9 p.m. Friday, with west winds of 30 to 40 mph, gusts up to 50 mph and patchy blowing dust that could cut visibility.

That combination turned ordinary spring work into a real hazard for landowners, farmers and anyone doing yard cleanup or roadside burning. Stutsman County Emergency Management urged residents to check burn restrictions before burning or taking part in outdoor activities because conditions could change during the day, including the issuance of a Red Flag Warning. County fire danger information is updated each morning, but officials said that can change quickly when wind and dryness intensify.

Jamestown Rural Fire Department fire chief Brian Paulson warned residents to avoid controlled burns because of the “critical” fire weather pattern and “extreme” fire behavior in Stutsman County. In a county built around open grass, farmland and scattered rural homes, that warning carried direct weight for volunteer firefighters who can face long drives to reach a grass fire before it gets established.

State emergency managers said North Dakota was already moving through a prolonged spring fire season because of lower-than-average snowpack and well below average spring precipitation. ND Response said April 2026 was the 10th driest April on record for the Williston area, based on 131 years of National Weather Service records. State officials said fire readiness calls were being held with the National Weather Service and other agencies, and engines and personnel were being prepositioned as conditions warranted, a sign that crews were treating the fire risk as a statewide operational problem, not just a weather headline.