National forecast for Tuesday, July 14
Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean has your FoxCast.
Two wildfires burning across the Mountain West region have scorched thousands of acres and forced evacuations as weather conditions Tuesday continue to work against firefighters.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a fire weather watch for areas along the California and Nevada borders in the Sierra Nevada mountains and red flag warnings from Arizona and Nevada through Utah into Colorado.
"The fire danger remains high, once again today, with hot temperatures and low humidity for parts of the Desert Southwest and the Great Basin," Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean said Tuesday.
HEAT WAVE SCORCHES FROM GULF COAST TO SOUTHERN PLAINS, SEVERE STORMS LIKELY INTO MIDWEST
Forecasters warned that conditions are favorable for rapid ignition, growth and spread of any fires.
The risk for wildfires stretches across the West on July 14. (Fox News)
On Monday, two blazes started and grew in Utah and Colorado.
Veyo West Fire
A fast-growing wildfire in a rural area of southern Utah forced home evacuations on Monday.
The Veyo West Fire burns in Washington County, Utah on July 14. (Utah Fire Info)
The blaze, dubbed the Veyo West fire, started around 3 p.m. in Washington County and was human-caused, according to fire officials.
The western portion of Veyo, located about 20 miles north-northwest of St. George, and the community of Brookside were evacuated initially before orders were lifted. Some evacuations still remain in the area.
Bulldozers and hand crews have been out cutting containment lines to keep the fire from spreading.
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Kevin Abel with the U.S. Forest Service told FOX13 on Tuesday morning that crews will keep a close eye on winds that are expected to kick up later in the day.
Backburn operations on Monday night allowed crews to reopen State Highway 18.
The blaze in Utah, however, is still zero percent contained.
Elephant Butte Fire
In these photos provided by Robert Brown, a wildfire burns west of Evergreen, Colo., July 13. (Robert Brown via AP)
More than 1,000 homes have been ordered to evacuate in a Colorado community west of Denver due to a fire that broke out on Monday.
The Elephant Butte Fire started around 2:30 p.m. Monday in Evergreen, located about 29 miles west of downtown Denver.
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Jenny Fulton, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, said three evacuation orders were issued for “well over a thousand homes."
No structures burned, and no injuries were reported. It's not yet clear what caused the fire.
The sheriff's office said Tuesday morning the blaze is still at 50 acres in size, with zero containment.
"We’re hoping the cooler weather today helps us make progress," the agency tweeted.
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The Evergreen Middle School and King-Murphy Elementary School in Clear Creek County have been set up as evacuation shelters, according to FOX31.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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