Wildfire, Clarke
- When
- April 25, 11:00 AM EST to April 28, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Clarke County, All
- Crop damage
- $750,000
- Coordinates
- 39.112, -77.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Virginia, April 25 to 28, 1996
Prolonged dry weather, combined with several breezy days in March and April, set the stage for scattered wildfires across portions of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Fires may have ensued early on the 24th, and were full-blown on the 25th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- $750,000
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.
Prolonged dry weather, combined with several breezy days in March and April, set the stage for scattered wildfires across portions of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. A particularly active period occurred late on the 23rd, when persistent high winds buffeted the area, initially ahead of a strong cold front and moreso behind the front.Fires may have ensued early on the 24th, and were full-blown on the 25th. Countywide, a total of 760 acres burned in three separate fires. Two large fires occurred on the 25th and 28th, respectively.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Nebraska, April 25 to 26, 1996
- High Wind in Iowa, April 25 to 26, 1996
- Wildfire in Virginia, April 25 to 28, 1996
- High Wind in South Dakota, April 25, 1996
- High Wind in Nebraska, April 25, 1996
- High Wind in Ohio, April 25, 1996
- Wildfire in Virginia, April 25, 1996
- Wildfire in Virginia, April 25, 1996
- High Wind in Indiana, April 25, 1996
- High Wind in South Dakota, April 25, 1996
- High Wind in Wyoming, April 25, 1996
- High Wind in Iowa, April 25, 1996
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, April 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5554914.