California, 2001

Wildfire in California, July 27 to 28, 2001

July 27 to 28, 2001 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A spark from a passing train started a brush fire that grew to 685 acres. The blaze briefly threatened the community of Lytle Creek, power transmission lines, and a ranch where animals are trained for movies.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
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 spark from a passing train started a brush fire that grew to 685 acres. The blaze briefly threatened the community of Lytle Creek, power transmission lines, and a ranch where animals are trained for movies. No injuries occurred, nor were any structures burned.

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 Jul 27, 8:25 AM PST, 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 27, 8:25 AM PST, 52 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
925 AM PDT FRI JUL 27 2001

                             ...SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING OVER THE SOUTHWEST WILL BRING WARM...DRY
WEATHER THIS WEEKEND. NEXT WEEK AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL DEVELOP
ALONG THE WEST COAST...BRINGING COOLER WEATHER AND A DEEPER MARINE
LAYER.

                            ...DISCUSSION...
MARINE LAYER DEPTH WAS 1200 FEET AT 12Z...AND COASTAL CLOUDS SPILLED
INTO SOME OF THE WESTERN VALLEYS. INVERSION WAS A FAIRLY STRONG 12C
THIS MORNING AND THIS MAY KEEP SCATTERED CLOUDS NEAR THE COAST THIS
AFTERNOON BUT MOST AREAS WILL TURN SUNNY.

RIDGE OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAINS BUILDS WESTWARD FOR HIGHER
HEIGHTS AND WARMER WEATHER TODAY AND SATURDAY. RIDGE HEIGHTS MAX OUT
NEAR 594 DM SATURDAY...THEN THE RIDGE STARTS TO BREAK DOWN SUNDAY IN
RESPONSE TO A DEVELOPING WEST COAST TROF. THIS TROF WILL BRING LOWER
HEIGHTS MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK FOR COOLER WEATHER.

CURRENT FORECAST OF WARMING THIS WEEKEND AND COOLING NEXT WEEK LOOKS
GOOD. WILL UPDATE ZONES TO REMOVE MORNING CLOUDS AND FOG FROM THE
FORECAST.

.SAN...NONE.

MOEDE

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 Bernardino

When
July 27, 9:17 AM PST to July 28, 5:00 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, Cajon
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
34.841, -116.178 (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

More

Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 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: 5258025.