Wildfire in Arizona, May 15, 2002

Name: Wildfire in Arizona, May 15, 2002
Start: 2002-05-15T12:00
End: 2002-05-15T12:00
Location: Arizona

May 15, 2002 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Hart fire fire burned 50 acres near Snow Bowl Road and Hart Prairie Road (FS Road 151) five miles northwest of Flagstaff.

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.

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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 FGZ wrote it up.

The Hart fire fire burned 50 acres near Snow Bowl Road and Hart Prairie Road (FS Road 151) five miles northwest of Flagstaff.

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 May 15, 9:00 AM MST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 9:00 AM MST, 3 hours before

NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
900 AM MST WED MAY 15 2002

.SYNOPSIS...FOR TODAY...A WEAK WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL PRODUCE
BREEZY SOUTHWEST WINDS ACROSS THE STATE. HIGH PRESSURE WILL
STRENGTHEN THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. AS A RESULT...THE WINDS WILL
DECREASE AND THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT WARMUP IN DAYTIME TEMPERATURES.
A PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM APPROACHING THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES FROM
SUNDAY INTO TUESDAY WILL BRING INCREASING WINDS TO THE NORTHLAND.

.DISCUSSION...CURRENT FORECAST IN GOOD SHAPE WITH NO UPDATES. A WEAK
SHORT-WAVE TROUGH IN THE MID- TO UPPER-LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE
ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA TODAY. AS A RESULT...EXPECT SOUTHWEST
BREEZES TO KICK UP THIS AFTERNOON. DAYTIME MIXING WILL EXTEND
VERTICALLY TO NEAR THE 600 MB LEVEL AND LOCATIONS ABOVE THE 5000
FOOT LEVEL SHOULD SEE AFTERNOON WINDS IN THE 15 TO 25 MPH RANGE.
OTHERWISE CLEAR...WARM AND DRY. FOR THURSDAY INTO SATURDAY SPLIT
FLOW DEVELOPS WITH A RIDGE TO THE NORTH AND A WEAK TROUGH TO THE
SOUTH. AS A RESULT...WINDS WILL WEAKEN SOME AND TEMPERATURES WARM A
COUPLE DEGREES. CONTINUED DRY.

MCCOLLUM

.FGZ...RFW FOR ALL FIRE WX ZONES FROM 11 AM MST THRU 7 PM MST TODAY.

.CODED TEMPERATURES/POPS FOR SELECTED CITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

CITY             TEMPERATURES HI/LO           PROBABILITY OF PRECIP
                 TDY TON   THU     FRI        TDY TON   THU   FRI
FLAGSTAFF        074/036 072/035 075/035      000 000 000 000 000 000
WINSLOW          085/050 084/049 087/049      000 000 000 000 000 000
PRESCOTT         082/049 082/048 085/048      000 000 000 000 000 000
PAGE             087/061 085/059 087/059      000 000 000 000 000 000
WINDOW ROCK      077/035 074/033 078/033      000 000 000 000 000 000
CANYON DE CHELLY 083/043 080/041 084/041      000 000 000 000 000 000
COTTONWOOD       093/056 093/055 096/055      000 000 000 000 000 000
GRAND CANYON     078/038 076/037 079/037      000 000 000 000 000 000
GREER            074/035 072/034 075/034      000 000 000 000 000 000
HEBER            081/037 079/036 082/036      000 000 000 000 000 000
JACOB LAKE       071/039 069/038 072/038      000 000 000 000 000 000
NAVAJO N.M.      075/040 072/038 076/038      000 000 000 000 000 000
PAYSON           087/049 087/048 090/048      000 000 000 000 000 000
SEDONA           090/055 090/054 093/054      000 000 000 000 000 000
SELIGMAN         084/041 084/040 087/040      000 000 000 000 000 000
SHOW LOW         083/045 081/044 084/044      000 000 000 000 000 000
ST. JOHNS        082/047 081/046 084/046      000 000 000 000 000 000
WUPATKI N.M.     087/054 086/053 089/053      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, Coconino

When: May 15, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Coconino County, Flagstaff
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 35.839, -111.770 (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, May 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: 5298898.