Critical fire weather conditions predicted Thursday, Friday

The National Weather Service says much of northern Arizona will have “critical fire weather conditions” Thursday through Saturday due to a storm system approaching the state from the northwest.

A fire weather watch has been issued for an area extending from the mountains in Yavapai County and the Mogollon Rim on the south to the Utah line on the north, with winds gusting up to 40 mph (64 kph) on Thursday and 50 mph (80 kph) on Friday.

A similar fire weather watch has been issued for most of northern Arizona for Friday.

Meanwhile, a fire weather watch has been issued for southwest and south-central Arizona for Friday and southern Gila County for Saturday.

The weather service says “conditions may become favorable for fires to quickly become out of control.”