The wind caused the flags to flutter at the Douglas County Community and Senior Center on Sunday afternoon.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.

A Red Flag Warning has been issued for 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Labor Day due to expected high winds and low humidity.

The warning applies to the entire Sierra region north of Mono Lake and northern Nevada and California to the Oregon and Idaho borders.

Humidity is expected to drop to 10-15 percent in Minden on Monday and 20-25 percent in the Tahoe Basin.

Wind gusts of 30-40 mph (48-64 km/h) can spread fires if they are started by sparks from, for example, dragging fire chains, working outdoors, driving over dry grass, but also from campfires that have not been completely extinguished or target shooting.

According to the National Weather Service in Reno, an upper-air cyclone has reached the northern California coast and is expected to make landfall near the California or Oregon coast tonight.

There will be a southwesterly to southwesterly wind and it will remain dry.

A cold front is expected to bring blustery conditions Monday afternoon and evening, with wind gusts of 50-70 mph (80-113 km/h) on mountain tops.

The wind has also prompted a warning for wind on lakes and blowing dust in the desert.

A change in the wind blew the dust away, reducing visibility to 3 miles by 8:15 a.m. Sunday, according to Minden-Tahoe Airport’s automated weather system. As of 4:20 p.m. Sunday, fire.airnow.gov showed the quality had improved from 47 at noon to 19, all in the good range.

But that same shift could carry smoke north from the Coffee Pot Fire in Sequoia National Park. Satellite maps show the blaze is burning at about 14,000 acres, 180 miles southeast of Carson Valley.

Caused by lightning on August 3, firefighters have a line at about 13 percent. Firefighters said Sunday afternoon they expected smoke to reach Mammoth.