Wildfire in California, July 23, 2002

Name: Wildfire in California, July 23, 2002
Start: 2002-07-23T16:30
End: 2002-07-23T20:00
Location: California

July 23, 2002 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A brush fire in Carbon Canyon, threatened several homes before being brought under containment. About 5 acres were burned, and no structures were damaged or lost.

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 SGX wrote it up.

A brush fire in Carbon Canyon, threatened several homes before being brought under containment. About 5 acres were burned, and no structures were damaged or lost.

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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 23, 1:30 PM PST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 1:30 PM PST, 3 hours before

EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
230 PM PDT TUE JUL 23 2002

.SYNOPSIS...MONSOONAL FLOW FROM THE SOUTHEAST WILL BRING WARMER
WEATHER AND A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS
THROUGH THURSDAY. BY THE WEEKEND...A WEAK UPPER TROUGH OF LOW
PRESSURE ALONG THE WEST COAST WILL BRING DRIER AND COOLER WEATHER
WITH MORE EXTENSIVE COASTAL LOW CLOUDS.

.DISCUSSION...HELLO MONSOONAL FLOW...GOODBYE CSTL CLOUDS. NO TSTORMS
YET IN THE REGION...BUT NOT FAR AWAY IN BAJA. EXPECT MAYBE ONE OR
TWO TO DEVELOP IN THE MTNS BEFORE SUNSET. BETTER CHANCE TOMORROW AS
STRONGER ELY FLOW AND DEEPER MOISTURE ARRIVES. ELY FLOW JUST STRONG
ENOUGH FOR TOKEN MENTION OF SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIP IN VALLEY ZONES.
OTHERWISE...SCATTERED SHOWERS EXPECTED IN MTNS AND DESERTS WED.
MODELS DRY OUT ATMOSPHERE A BIT THU...BUT THE SOLUTION SEEMS
OVERDONE. PLENTY OF MOISTURE WILL HANG AROUND FOR TSTORMS AGAIN THU.
HOWEVER...POPS WERE LOWERED TO SLIGHT CATEGORY IN DESERTS. ON FRI
THINGS GET CLEANED UP AS AN UPPER LOW TROUGH MOVES S DOWN CA...THE
FLOW TURNS DRY FROM THE SW AND MOISTURE EBBS BACK INTO AZ AND
SONORA. THE MARINE LAYER MAY RECOVER A BIT FRI...THEN GET HEALTHY
AGAIN WITH A LIKELY EDDY OVER THE WEEKEND AS THE TROUGH BOTTOMS OUT
SUN OVER SOCAL WATERS. THE LOW WEAKENS MON AND TUE...BUT NO BIG
CHANGES EXPECTED IN SEASONAL PATTERN.

.SAN...NONE.

MM

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, San Bernardino

When: July 23, 4:30 PM PST to 8:00 PM PST
Where: San Bernardino County, Chino
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.841, -116.178 (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 California in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, 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: 5303534.