Wildfire in Arizona, April 29 to 30, 2002

Name: Wildfire in Arizona, April 29 to 30, 2002
Start: 2002-04-29T08:00
End: 2002-04-30T23:00
Location: Arizona

April 29 to 30, 2002 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Ryan fire was started by a campfire in Coronado National Forest at Canelo Hill on April 29th and continued through May 4th. 2 million dollars.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $90,000
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 TWC wrote it up.

The Ryan fire was started by a campfire in Coronado National Forest at Canelo Hill on April 29th and continued through May 4th. The fire burned 38,800 acres with estimated total fire fighting cost of 1.2 million dollars. The fire burned one house and several outbuildings.

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 Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 29, 2:15 AM MST, 5 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 29, 2:15 AM MST, 5 hours 45 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
215 AM MST MON APR 29 2002

.SYNOPSIS...MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS
ARIZONA...HOWEVER THIS WONT AFFECT WARM AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES MUCH
WITH HIGH PRESSURE NEARBY IN NORTHERN MEXICO. EXPECT A COOLING TREND
BY WEDNESDAY...AS A DRY AND WINDY STORM SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE
AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL THEN SLOWLY REBOUND IN THE LATTER PART OF
THE WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...THICKEST PART OF MID AND HIGH LEVEL SUBTROPICAL
MOISTURE MOVING ACROSS THE STATE NOW. THIS WILL BE SHUNTED EASTWARD
OVER THE NEXT 36 HRS AS THE LOW OFF THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST
PUSHES THROUGH THE GREAT BASIN NORTH OF US. LOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN
DRY AND NO RAIN THIS FAR SOUTH...BUT WELL SEE A FEW DEGREES OF
COOLING ALONG WITH WINDY GRADIENT ENHANCED WINDS TUESDAY. SHAPING UP
INTO A WIND ADVISORY FOR AT LEAST EASTERN AREAS...WITH POSSIBLE FIRE
WEATHER CONCERNS AS WELL. WELL SEE THE MOST COOLING WEDNESDAY AS
MOST OF THE COOLER AIR PUSHES IN. WELL BE IN NO HURRY TO WARM UP
AGAIN BEHIND THE SYSTEM FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK. A SLOW
RESPONSE TO HEIGHT AND THICKNESS INCREASES AS THE RIDGE TRIES TO
SPREAD BACK INTO NORTHERN MEXICO FROM THE EAST. THE SAME TRENDS WE
HAVE BEEN ALREADY ADVERTISING WITH NO RAIN IN SIGHT. M

.TWC...NONE.

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, Santa Cruz

When: April 29, 8:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:00 PM MST
Where: Santa Cruz County, Canelo
Property damage: $90,000
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 31.526, -110.847 (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 Arizona in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, April 2002

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: 5293565.