The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for the region that includes Philomath to be in effect from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening.
The agency said it expects thunderstorms to make their way through the region over the weekend with the possibility of frequent lightning strikes. Combined with critically dry fuels, numerous fire starts could occur and outflow winds may result in erratic fire spread.
The National Weather Service defines a fire weather watch as critical fire weather conditions that are forecast to occur.
The watch is scheduled to run from 5 p.m. Saturday until 8 p.m. Sunday.