Wildfire in California, August 14 to 15, 2001

Name: Wildfire in California, August 14 to 15, 2001
Start: 2001-08-14T12:00
End: 2001-08-15T05:00
Location: California

August 14 to 15, 2001 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A brush fire quickly grew to 700 acres due to downdraft winds from a thunderstorm, dry brush, and hot temperatures. The flames came within several hundred yards of ranch structures.

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 3
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
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 SGX wrote it up.

A brush fire quickly grew to 700 acres due to downdraft winds from a thunderstorm, dry brush, and hot temperatures. The flames came within several hundred yards of ranch structures. Three of the 500 firefighters assigned to the fire were overcome by heat exhaustion and injuries.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 14, 7:15 AM PST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 14, 7:15 AM PST, 4 hours 45 minutes before

EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
815 AM PDT TUE AUG 14 2001

                             ...SYNOPSIS...
ONSHORE FLOW AND A SHALLOW MARINE LAYER WILL CAUSE PATCHY NIGHT AND
MORNING COASTAL LOW CLOUDS AND FOG. AFTERNOON CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED
OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS AGAIN TODAY. THE AIR MASS IS MORE
STABLE....AND THE THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS IS LOWER.STRONG HIGH
PRESSURE ALOFT WILL KEEP THE WEATHER FAIR WITH HOT DAYS INLAND
THROUGH THE WEEKEND. GRADUALLY COOLER NEXT WEEK AS THE HIGH WEAKENS.

                             ...DISCUSSION...
THE THUNDERSTORM QUESTION HAS BEEN RAISED AGAIN FOR TODAYS WEATHER
PROBLEM. 24 HOUR CHANGES SHOW DEWPOINTS ARE DOWN ABOUT 5 DEGREES
OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS...ABOUT 2 DEGREES CELSIUS WARMING HAS
TAKEN PLACE IN THE 15000-20000 FT LAYER...THE FLOW ABOVE THIS LEVEL
HAS VEERED TO NW 40 KT...AND SATELLITE IMAGERY/PIREPS INDICATE
SUBSIDENCE/WARMING ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE TODAY. TRIGGER
TEMPS OF NEAR 90 FOR THE HIGHER MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS COULD BE REACHED
BY MIDDAY AND ENOUGH MOISTURE IN AIR MASS FOR CUMULUS
FORMATION...BUT THESE ARE LIKELY TO BE CAPPED FROM GROWING MUCH
BEYOND MODERATE CUMULUS. WILL ISSUE AN UPDATE AROUND 9 AM TO LOWER
THREAT OF TSTMS TO ISOLATED TODAY AND/OR ELIMINATE FROM WEDNESDAY
FORECAST. WILL ALSO INCLUDE HEADLINES IN SOME INLAND ZONES FOR NEAR
RECORD TEMPERATURES ON WEDNESDAY.

WILL LEAVE EXTENDED PERIODS ALONE FOR NOW BUT POSSIBLE CHANGES IN
AFTERNOON PACKAGE WILL BE TO CARRY MENTION OF NEAR AND/OR RECORD
HIGH TEMPERATURES INTO FRIDAY. WILL ALSO REVIEW THE EXTENDED
GUIDANCE IN FURTHER DETAIL TO SEE IF MENTION OF AFTERNOON TSTMS OVER
MOUNTAINS SHOULD BE DROPPED OR CONTINUED.

.SAN...NONE.

BALFOUR

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, San Diego

When: August 14, 12:00 PM PST to August 15, 5:00 AM PST
Where: San Diego County, 3 mi N of Ramona
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in California in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in California, August 2001

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: 5263066.