Arizona, 2002

Wildfire in Arizona, July 1 to 8, 2002

July 1 to 8, 2002 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Rodeo fire was human caused on June 18 about 10 miles northeast of Cibecue on the lower slopes of the Mogollon Rim. The Chediski Fire was human caused June 20 about 12 miles to the west of the Rodeo Fire.

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
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 FGZ wrote it up.

The Rodeo fire was human caused on June 18 about 10 miles northeast of Cibecue on the lower slopes of the Mogollon Rim. The Chediski Fire was human caused June 20 about 12 miles to the west of the Rodeo Fire. The fires merged and became the Chediski-Rodeo Complex which burned 468,638 acres before it was contained at 6:00 PM on Saturday July 6th. The fire also burned 426 structures and homes. Over 30,000 people were evacuated from Show Low, Summer Pines, Pinetop-Lakeside, Linden, Pinedale, Clay Springs, McNary, Hon-Dah, Forestdale, Heber, Overgaard, Forest Lakes, and Aripine during the peak of the fire. Four Type I Incident Command Teams were assigned to the fire with close to 4,500 fire fighting personnel. Resources assigned to the Chediski-Rodeo fire included 18 Type I Hot Shot crews and 77 Type II crews, 30 helicopters, 245 engines, 90 bull dozers, 92 water tenders, and 11 air tankers. During the fire, all roads in the area were closed to the public including State Road 260, US 60, Highway 377, and Highway 277. Flame lengths were observed in the 300 to 400 foot range during some of the major uphill runs.

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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 30, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 30, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
900 PM MST SUN JUN 30 2002

.SYNOPSIS...UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE HAS INCREASED ACROSS MUCH OF THE
AREA TODAY. THIS WILL LEAD TO AN INCREASED CHANCE OF HIGH BASED AND
MAINLY DRY THUNDERSTORMS ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY ACROSS THE RIM. THE
COVERAGE OF THE DRY THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD TO MUCH OF THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ARIZONA BY WEDNESDAY...LASTING
THROUGH FRIDAY...AS A WEAK WEATHER DISTURBANCE MOVES THROUGH THE
STATE. A DRYING TREND WILL DEVELOP LATE IN THE WEEK AND INTO NEXT
WEEKEND. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL SLIGHTLY TO NEAR NORMAL LEVELS BY
TUESDAY.

.DISCUSSION...A FEW BUILD UPS TODAY OVER EASTERN HALF OF THE CWA
HOWEVER NO LIGHTNING WAS DETECTED. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWING CLOUDS
DISSIPATING AS A RESULT OF THE LOSS OF HEATING ATTM AND LOOKING FOR
MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES OVERNIGHT. FOR THE NEAR TERM LITTLE CHANGE IN
THE PATTERN SEEN THRU MID WEEK. HIGH PRESSURE TO REMAIN CENTERED
OVER NORTHERN AZ WITH LOW PRESSURE AREA OFF THE NORTHERN BAJA COAST.
THERE WAS A SLIGHT INCREASE IN MID LEVEL MOISTURE ACROSS THE CWA
TODAY. THIS EVIDENT BY CU FIELDS AND WV IMAGERY. MODEL SOUNDINGS
PROG BTWN 0.50 AND 0.60 INCHES OF PW THRU MID WEEK. SLIGHTLY
IMPROVED DYNAMICS AND A SLOW WEAKENING OF THE RIDGE WILL ENABLE
BETTER CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT MONDAY AND TUESDAY. CHANCES OF WETTING
RAIN LOW WITH MAIN AFFECTS OF ANY CONVECTION BEING GUSTY MICROBURST
WINDS. MAY SEE MAXES DIP A FEW DEGREE BY MID WEEK DUE TO INCREASED
AFTERNOON CLOUDINESS. ZONES IN GOOD SHAPE...NO UPDATE. DF

.FGZ...NONE.

.CODED TEMPERATURES/POPS FOR SELECTED CITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

CITY             TEMPERATURES LO/HI           PROBABILITY OF PRECIP
                 TON MON   TUE     WED        TON MON   TUE     WED
FLAGSTAFF        053/087 054/084 052/082      000 020 000 020 020 020
WINSLOW          059/097 061/095 061/093      000 000 000 000 000 000
PRESCOTT         060/094 062/093 061/091      000 000 000 000 000 020
PAGE             072/102 074/100 073/098      000 000 000 000 000 000
WINDOW ROCK      048/090 049/088 048/086      000 000 000 000 000 020
CANYON DE CHELLY 055/097 056/095 055/093      000 000 000 000 000 010
COTTONWOOD       067/105 069/104 068/102      000 000 000 000 000 020
GRAND CANYON     054/091 055/088 053/086      000 010 000 010 010 010
GREER            052/085 053/082 051/080      000 020 000 020 020 030
HEBER            054/093 055/090 053/088      000 020 000 020 020 030
JACOB LAKE       056/083 057/080 055/078      000 020 000 020 020 020
NAVAJO N.M.      054/089 055/087 054/085      000 000 000 000 000 020
PAYSON           059/099 061/098 060/096      000 000 000 000 000 020
SEDONA           066/103 068/102 067/100      000 000 000 000 000 020
SELIGMAN         052/096 054/095 053/093      000 000 000 000 000 010
SHOW LOW         063/096 064/093 062/091      000 010 000 010 010 020
ST. JOHNS        055/093 057/091 057/089      000 000 000 000 000 000
WUPATKI N.M.     064/099 066/097 066/095      000 000 000 000 000 000

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, Navajo

When
July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 8, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Navajo County, Cibecue
Reported by
PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates
35.400, -110.321 (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 Arizona in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, July 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: 5311296.