September 5, 2019 7:00 a.m. (Updated at 9:15 a.m.)
The National Weather Service is continuing a Red Flag Warning for the Umpqua Basin, Umpqua National Forest and surrounding areas.
Forecasters in Medford said thunderstorms will continue and increase in coverage Thursday afternoon and evening. Thunderstorms will be mostly wet in the afternoon, but lightning can occur outside of the rain core, so the risk of fire starts remains high.
Lightning and high fire danger will likely result in new fire starts. Gusty thunderstorm winds could contribute to fire spread.
Winds will be gusty and erratic near thunderstorms.
The Red Flag Warning is in place until 11:00 p.m. Southern and eastern Douglas County from Tri-City south, and east of Interstate 5 for areas north of Tri-City, along with the Western Rogue Basin including the Illinois Valley, the eastern Rogue Valley, the Southern Oregon Cascades and the Siskiyou Mountains are among the areas under a Red Flag Warning.