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Parts of Southeastern VA under Red Flag Warning

Posted at 11:45 AM, Apr 23, 2014
and last updated 2014-04-23 18:03:57-04

Parts of Southeastern Virginia have been placed under a Red Flag Warning until 8:00 p.m. Wednesday evening.

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are occurring. That includes a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures, which can contribute to the formation of wildfires.

Areas under the warning include Newport News, Hampton, James City, York, Gloucester, Middlesex, Mathews, Surry, Accomack and Northampton.

Other parts of Hampton Roads, including Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight County were under special advisories by the National Weather Service.

Virginia Beach Battalion Chief Bill Skelaney says conditions were dangerous Wednesday.

"The winds are high, the humidity is low and we haven’t had rain in a little while, the brush and woods are a little dried out," he told NewsChannel 3's Todd Corillo.

Over the Easter weekend, the Virginia Department of Forestry reports that they had to fight 6 wildfires in the western part of Virginia.