Wildfire in Arizona, June 1 to 10, 2002

Name: Wildfire in Arizona, June 1 to 10, 2002
Start: 2002-06-01T00:00
End: 2002-06-10T20:00
Location: Arizona

June 1 to 10, 2002 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Bullock wildfire started in Bullock Canyon in the Catalina Mountains, part of the Coronado National Forest. The fire started on May 21st and continued through June 10th.

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: $100,000
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 Bullock wildfire started in Bullock Canyon in the Catalina Mountains, part of the Coronado National Forest. The fire started on May 21st and continued through June 10th. It was suspected to be human induced. The fire burned 30,563 acres along with 2 cabins and several outbuildings. The residents of Summerhaven were evacuated on May 25th and Catalina Highway closed on May 22nd. The fire also threatened Mt. Bigelow which had several telecommunication towers and 2 telescopes. However, fire fighters were able to contain the fire a half of a mile away. The entire fire fighting costs was estimated to be 11.5 million dollars.

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 May 31, 9:23 PM MST, 2 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 9:23 PM MST, 2 hours 37 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
923 PM MST FRI MAY 31 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL SHIFT TO THE
EAST...AS A WEAK UPPER LOW MOVES NORTHWARD THROUGH CALIFORNIA.  THIS
WILL RESULT IN AN INCREASE IN WINDS AND SOME COOLER TEMPERATURES.
ANOTHER WEAK STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS STATE ON SUNDAY AND
MONDAY...ALSO CAUSING SOME AFTERNOON BREEZY CONDITIONS.

.DISCUSSION...PLENTY OF HIGH CLOUDS OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA IN
ADVANCE OF THE SYSTEM NEAR THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST THIS
EVENING. LATEST MODELS APPEARED TO HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THE SYSTEM
WHICH MOVES INLAND OVERNIGHT AND EJECTS NORTHEAST INTO SOUTHERN
NEVADA BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. IT STILL LOOKS LIKE THE MAIN IMPACT
FROM THIS SYSTEM WILL BE THE SLIGHT INCREASE IN WINDS SATURDAY
AFTERNOON. STRONGER WINDS ARE ANTICIPATED SUNDAY AND MONDAY AS A
SECONDARY SYSTEM DROPS INTO THE REGION. THESE PROJECTED WINDS WITH
LOW HUMIDITY LEVELS HAVE PROMPTED A FWX WATCH TO BE POSTED FOR
SUNDAY AND MONDAY. OTHERWISE...WITH THE RIDGE SHIFTING EAST OF THE
REGION DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL BE LOWERING TO AROUND NORMAL BY
MONDAY. CURRENT PACKAGE LOOKS ON TRACK...NO UPDATES NEEDED THIS
EVENING.

.TWC...FWX WATCH FOR ZONES 146/147/148 FOR SUN AND MON.

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, Pima

When: June 1, 12:00 AM MST to June 10, 8:00 PM MST
Where: Pima County, 15 mi SE of Mt Lemmon
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 32.097, -111.790 (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, June 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: 5298926.