More Than 11 Million People Affected by ‘Critical’ Fire Warnings

Millions of United States residents are being urged to be cautious amid dangerous fire conditions on Wednesday.

If you're a weather buff, the U.S. is certainly giving you plenty of things to keep an eye on this week. There's snow lingering in some spots, along with severe thunderstorms wreaking havoc elsewhere.

Currently, more than a dozen states are under Red flag warnings for "critical" fire conditions, per the latest alert from the National Weather Service (NWS).

What is a Red Flag Warning?

The NWS issues a Fire Weather Watch or Red Flag Warning "the combination of dry fuels and weather conditions support extreme fire danger."

"These products are written for land and fire managers to highlight the increased fire danger," says Weather.gov.

A Red Flag Warning is the more serious of the two alerts and is announced when conditions "are expected to occur or are occurring within the next 24 hours."

Which states are under a Red Flag Warning?

Areas of the following states are affected by the NWS announcement:

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Minnesota
• Montana
• Nebraska
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Texas
• Wyoming

Another day of strong winds and critical fire weather conditions across the Intermountain West, Rockies and Plains.

Red flag warnings have been issued for more than 11 million people today. Some of these warnings have been designated as a Particularly Dangerous Situation… pic.twitter.com/Hk95KJdo3m

— National Weather Service (@NWS) April 22, 2026

What should residents know?

In total, more than 11 million people across the "Intermountain West, Rockies and Plains" are impacted by the Red flag warnings issued today, according to a tweet from the NWS.

"Some of these warnings have been designated as a Particularly Dangerous Situation meaning, that if a fire were to start it could pose a significant threat to life and property for both rural and urban environments," the NWS said. "Avoid debris burning, campfires, and any outdoor activity or use of equipment that could produce a spark. Follow all local fire restrictions."

For additional information on which specific areas of these 13 states are most affected, and for more detailed official guidelines, click here.