Wildfire in Arizona, June 18 to 30, 2002

Name: Wildfire in Arizona, June 18 to 30, 2002
Start: 2002-06-18T16:15
End: 2002-06-30T23:59
Location: Arizona

June 18 to 30, 2002 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Rodeo fire was human caused 10 miles northeast of Cibecue on the lower slopes of the Mogollon Rim. The Chediski Fire was human caused two days later 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 10 miles northeast of Cibecue on the lower slopes of the Mogollon Rim. The Chediski Fire was human caused two days later about 12 miles to the west of the Rodeo Fire. Before merging, the Rodeo Fire burned 199,300 acres and the Chediski Fire burned 93,990 acers. The Chediski-Rodeo Complex burned 468,638 acres before it was contained at 600 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 Rodeo-Chediski 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 200 to 300 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 18, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 18, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes before

NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
230 PM MST TUE JUN 18 2002

.SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST WILL BE REPLACED
BY A TROUGH ALONG THE WEST COAST THIS WEEK. OCCASIONAL HIGH CLOUDS
AND COOLER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED...ALONG WITH AN INCREASE IN
WINDS BY THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...A WEAK CYCLONIC CIRCULATION WAS NEAR 26N 123W THIS
AFTERNOON. WV IMAGERY INDICATES SOME INCREASE IN MOISTURE ASSOCIATED
WITH THIS SYSTEM. YESTERDAYS ETA HAD A BETTER MOISTURE
INITIALIZATION AND INDICATED SOME OF THIS MOISTURE WOULD ADVECT OVER
ARIZONA WHILE THE AVN REMAINED DRY. TODAY...BOTH MODELS INDICATE
SOME INCREASE IN MOISTURE WITH THE AVN DRIER THAN THE ETA. CURRENT
WV IMAGERY INDICATES THAT SOME OF THIS MOISTURE IS NOW APPROACHING
AZ. SINCE THE ETA HAS DONE A BETTER JOB SO FAR WITH THE MOISTURE
DEPICTION WILL ACCEPT THE ETA SOLUTION. THUS HAVE INTRODUCED SOME
HIGH CLOUDS FOR WEDNESDAY AND PARTLY CLOUDY FOR THURSDAY. CLEAR
SKIES RETURN ON FRIDAY BUT THERE SHOULD BE AN INCREASE IN WIND AS
THE NEXT S/W TROUGH APPROACHES THE AREA AND THE GRADIENT TIGHTENS.

.EXTENDED...RIDGE TO BUILD IN AGAIN DURING THE EXTENDED PERIOD.
BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS MAY PREVAIL FOR THE FIRST DAY OF
THE EXTENDED...BUT WINDS WILL DIMINISH QUICKLY AS THE STRONGER SW
FLOW LEAVES THE REGION. WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE.  DB

.FGZ...NONE

.CODED TEMPERATURES/POPS FOR SELECTED CITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

CITY             TEMPERATURES LO/HI           PROBABILITY OF PRECIP
                 TON WED   THU     FRI        TON WED   THU     FRI
FLAGSTAFF        043/085 046/080 047/080      000 000 000 000 000 000
WINSLOW          058/095 059/092 058/093      000 000 000 000 000 000
PRESCOTT         057/091 059/088 058/088      000 000 000 000 000 000
PAGE             071/097 070/094 068/093      000 000 000 000 000 000
WINDOW ROCK      045/088 048/087 050/082      000 000 000 000 000 000
CANYON DE CHELLY 052/095 055/094 057/089      000 000 000 000 000 000
COTTONWOOD       064/102 066/099 065/099      000 000 000 000 000 000
GRAND CANYON     044/089 047/084 048/084      000 000 000 000 000 000
GREER            042/083 045/078 046/078      000 000 000 000 000 000
HEBER            044/091 047/086 048/086      000 000 000 000 000 000
JACOB LAKE       046/081 049/076 050/076      000 000 000 000 000 000
NAVAJO N.M.      051/087 054/086 056/081      000 000 000 000 000 000
PAYSON           056/096 058/093 057/093      000 000 000 000 000 000
SEDONA           063/100 065/097 064/097      000 000 000 000 000 000
SELIGMAN         049/093 051/090 050/090      000 000 000 000 000 000
SHOW LOW         053/094 056/089 057/089      000 000 000 000 000 000
ST. JOHNS        054/091 055/088 054/089      000 000 000 000 000 000
WUPATKI N.M.     063/097 064/094 063/095      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: June 18, 4:15 PM MST to June 30, 11:59 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

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: 5300680.