Wildfire and Heat in California, August 1 to 7, 1997

Tinder dry brush and hot, dry weather, intensified a fire which burned 457 acres on the north side of Lake Wohlford. Although arson was blamed for starting the blaze, shifting seabreeze winds of 15 to 25 mph, helped keep it from being controlled. Eleven homes, twenty out buildings, and thirty vehicles were lost. Damage was estimated at $1.75 million

Strong High pressure aloft, and offshore pressure gradients weakened the normal seabreeze conditions for mid-summer, resulting in dangerously hot weather over all but coastal areas. The heat peaked over the inland valleys on the fifth as Riverside and Ontario both reached 110 degrees fahrenheit. The intense heat was also felt at higher elevations. Beaumont, at 2600 feet, hit 113 degrees, and Julian, at 4130 feet, hit 101. The highest temperatures were logged in the low deserts with Thermal reaching 121 degrees. The highest overnight minimum was reported at Palm Springs with a low of 93 degrees on the fifth. Only the immediate coast was spared, however on the fifth, many beach areas were well into the 90s. Five deaths were directly attributable to hyperthermia. One female was found near Dulzura on the fifth, and another elderly female collapsed in her yard in Cabazon and died early on the sixth. On the seventh, a man collapsed in a parking lot in Riverside, and another died at a residence in Flowing Wells, after walking from Mexicali. Finally, a woman from Campo was hospitalized on the eighth, and died several days later. The heat made brush fires difficult to control, and pushed electric consumption to all time records in Orange and San Diego Counties.