California, 2001

Wildfire in California, June 29, 2001

June 29, 2001 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A wild fire, started by sparks from the undercarriage of a Jeep hitting a large rock, consumed 75 acres of brush on the west side of Interstate 15, and 5 acres along the east side of the freeway between North and Lake Streets in Lake Elsinore. Traffic on the freeway was backed up for several miles due to thick smoke and flames in the median strip.

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.

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The toll

Deaths
1
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 wild fire, started by sparks from the undercarriage of a Jeep hitting a large rock, consumed 75 acres of brush on the west side of Interstate 15, and 5 acres along the east side of the freeway between North and Lake Streets in Lake Elsinore. Traffic on the freeway was backed up for several miles due to thick smoke and flames in the median strip. The driver of the jeep perished in the fire.

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 Jun 29, 12:51 PM PST, 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 29, 12:51 PM PST, 19 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
230 PM PDT FRI JUN 29 2001

                             ...SYNOPSIS...
A SHALLOW MARINE LAYER WILL RESULT IN PATCHY NIGHT AND MORNING COASTAL
LOW CLOUDS AND FOG. OTHERWISE...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL KEEP THE
WEATHER FAIR THROUGH THE WEEKEND. MOISTURE IN SOUTHEAST FLOW ALOFT
WILL BRING MORE HUMID WEATHER WITH A CHANCE OF MOUNTAIN AND DESERT
THUNDERSTORMS NEXT WEEK.

                             ...DISCUSSION...
STRATUS STUBBORN AT BEACHES FROM NEWPORT TO PT. LOMA RESULTING FROM
TODAYS STRONGER ONSHORE FLOW. NICE LOOKING SWIRLS IN CLOUD DECK.
BELIEVE MOST BEACHES WILL BREAK UP BEFORE SUNSET. STRONG HIGH
PRESSURE ALOFT WILL KEEP MARINE LAYER SUPPRESSED SO FOG WILL EXTEND
TO HIGHER MESAS AND COASTAL HILLS BUT NOT VERY FAR INLAND TONIGHT.

PERSISTENCE WX THROUGH WEEKEND. STRONG UPPER HIGH WILL KEEP DESERTS
HOT AND THE THERMAL LOW STRONG. THIS MEANS ONSHORE FLOW WILL
MAINTAIN CURRENT STRENGTH THROUGH WEEKEND AND LOW CLOUD COVERAGE
SHOULD BE SIMILAR NIGHTS AND MORNINGS. INVERSION MAY BE STRONG
ENOUGH TO PRECLUDE TOO MUCH CLEARING ALONG BEACHES...BUT BELIEVE
MOST BEACHES WILL CLEAR FOR WEEKEND. TEMPS ABOUT THE SAME. EARLY
NEXT WEEK MODELS PUT UPPER HIGH OVER 4 CORNERS AND SHOULD GET
GRADUALLY INCREASING HIGH CLOUD DEBRIS FROM SONORA TSTORMS AND
INCREASING CHANCE OF TSTORMS INTO TUE. AS NEW AVN 120HR MOVES 4
CORNERS HIGH NORTHWARD ON WED THE MOISTURE AT LOWER LEVELS WILL
INCREASE AND SO WILL THE TSTORM CHANCES. LATTER HALF OF WEEK APPEARS
MUGGY WITH EVEN A BETTER CHANCE OF TSTORMS IN MTNS/DSRTS.

.SAN...NONE.

MM

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, Riverside

When
June 29, 1:10 PM PST to 11:00 PM PST
Where
Riverside County, Lake Elsinore
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Wildfire, Riverside2001-06-2945MaleOutside/Open AreasDirect

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, June 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: 5252050.