Breezy south winds and dry air will push fire danger up across the northeastern Sierra Foothills, including El Dorado Hills and Cameron Park, on Thursday, Sept. 24, according to the National Weather Service's Sacramento office.

The agency posted about elevated fire weather concerns on X on Wednesday, Sept. 23, forecasting winds of 15 to 25 mph out of the south and relative humidity dropping into the mid-teens to mid-20s across the foothills. Those conditions fall short of a formal Red Flag Warning but signal increased fire risk for foothill communities.

By Friday evening, the threat is expected to shift. NWS Sacramento said fire weather concerns will move toward the northern Sacramento Valley and adjacent terrain, a pattern that brings elevated risk closer to Folsom through Saturday, Sept. 26.

Folsom forecast

The NWS Sacramento County briefing page shows Folsom hitting a forecast high of 93°F on Thursday with wind gusts of 15 mph.

No watches, warnings or advisories were in effect for Sacramento County as of early Wednesday morning.

Specific wind and humidity forecasts for the Folsom area during the Friday-into-Saturday shift had not been published as of Wednesday afternoon.

A step below Red Flag Warning

The current designation is "elevated fire weather conditions," a tier below the Red Flag Warning NWS Sacramento issued Sept. 12 through Sept. 14 for portions of the Sacramento Valley and northern foothills. That earlier event carried wind gusts of 20 to 35 mph and daytime humidity of 10% to 25%.

Thursday's forecast calls for somewhat lighter winds and slightly higher humidity. The combination still raises ignition risk across dry grass and brush in the foothills.

What residents can do

CAL FIRE's Ready for Wildfire program urges a three-step approach: harden your home and maintain defensible space, prepare an evacuation plan and go bag, and leave early if threatened. The agency offers a personalized wildfire preparedness checklist at readyforwildfire.org, available in English and Spanish.

Residents can monitor updated forecasts and any potential upgrades to formal warnings at weather.gov/sto.