Wildfire in Wyoming, July 28 to 31, 2001

Name: Wildfire in Wyoming, July 28 to 31, 2001
Start: 2001-07-28T12:30
End: 2001-07-31T23:59
Location: Wyoming

July 28 to 31, 2001 · NWS RIW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Arthur Fire was started by lightning. The fire had burned 1,500 acres and was not fully contained by the end of July.

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: 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 RIW wrote it up.

The Arthur Fire was started by lightning. The fire had burned 1,500 acres and was not fully contained by the end of July.

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 Riverton, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 28, 2:33 AM MST, 9 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 28, 2:33 AM MST, 9 hours 57 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY
333 AM MDT SAT JUL 28 2001

MUCH MORE ACTIVE THAN I COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED LAST EVENING ACROSS
SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL ZONES. THIS HAS ME CONCERNED ABOUT LATER
TODAY. LATEST WV LOOP SHOWS STREAM OF MID AND HIGH LEVEL MOISTURE
FROM THE PACIFIC ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTO MUCH OF
WYOMING. IN ADDITION WV ALSO SHOWS A VORT MAX MOVING ACROSS
SOUTHWEST WYOMING AND ANOTHER WEAKER MAX OVER SOUTHEAST NEVADA. 00Z
MESO ETA HAS A 700 MB TROUGH MOVING ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON
AND PAINTS LIGHT QPF ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL BY 00Z AS LI/S
HOVER AROUND ZERO. COUNTER ACTING THIS WILL BE A FAIRLY STRONG
DOWNSLOPE SOUTHWEST WIND. I WILL OPT TO ADD ISOLATED PM TSTMS INTO
SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL ZONES. ANY STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL LIKELY
CONTAIN STRONG DOWNBURT WINDS AS SURFACE REMAINS RATHER MOISTURE
STARVED. IN ADDITION...A SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH NORTHERN
ZONES THIS EVENING AND IS THEN EXPECTED TO STALL OUT. GUSTY
SOUTHWEST WINDS IN THE WEST WILL HINDER FIRE FIGHTING ACTIVITIES ON
THE GREEN KNOLL FIRE WITH GUSTS LIKELY TO EXCEED 30 KNOTS AT TIMES.
HOT TODAY WITH A COUPLE RECORD HIGHS TO BE CHALLENGED CENTRAL. AT
THIS POINT SUNDAY LOOKS VOID OF CONVECTION WITH DRY SLOT ACROSS CWA.
AFTERNOON BREEZY TO WINDY SOUTHWEST WINDS EXPECTED. TEMPERATURES A
BIT TRICKY AS ETA/NGM 700 MB TEMPS SHOWN TO FALL A FEW DEGREES BUT
THE AVN KEEPS THEM RATHER TOASTY. I WILL LEAN TOWARD PERSISTENCE AND
SIDE WITH THE WARMER AVN. IN THE EXTENDED...UPPER HIGH ANCHORS OVER
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH TROUGH OVER PACIFIC
NORTHWEST. WYOMING IN BETWEEN WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. I WILL LET
DAY SHIFT HAVE ANOTHER LOOK BUT CURRENT DRY FORECAST MONDAY AND
TUESDAY A LITTLE IFFY ESPECIALLY WITH MUCH OF CWA IN RR QUAD OF JET.
THE MIDDLE TO END OF NEXT WEEK LOOKS DRY AND HOT AS ECMWF/MRF SHOW
RIDGE RETROGRADING WEST.

.RIW...RED FLAG WARNING TODAY FOR ALL MOUNTAIN ZONES...AND WEST...SOUTH
AND CENTRAL LOWER ELEVATIONS.

SULLIVAN

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, Park

When: July 28, 12:30 PM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Park County, 41 mi W of Wapiti
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 44.521, -109.588 (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 Wyoming in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Wyoming, 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: 5258157.