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High winds and low humidity will create critical fire conditions across parts of central and western North Carolina.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday across areas in the Piedmont and foothills. The warning stretches from west of Durham to Charlotte and Hickory.

Forecasters said relative humidity values will fall to less than 25 percent. They expect frequent wind gusts will get up to 30 mph or 40 mph.

North Carolina wildfires have already scorched more than 14,000 acres in 2008. The state’s Division of Forest Resources says wildfires burn an average of 20,000 acres annually.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire