California, 2002

Wildfire in California, June 18, 2002

June 18, 2002 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Fifteen acres burned on the Pechanga Indian Reservation. No structures were burned.

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 SGX wrote it up.

Fifteen acres burned on the Pechanga Indian Reservation. No structures were burned.

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 Jun 18, 8:30 AM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 18, 8:30 AM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
930 AM PDT TUE JUN 18 2002

.SYNOPSIS...THE MARINE LAYER AND ONSHORE FLOW WILL CAUSE NIGHT AND
MORNING COASTAL LOW CLOUDS AND FOG...EXTENDING LOCALLY INLAND. WEAK
UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE WILL BRING COOLING AND WILL CAUSE GUSTY WINDS
IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS AT TIMES THROUGH THURSDAY. OTHERWISE...
FAIR. SUMMER BEGINS FRIDAY AT 624 AM PDT.

.DISCUSSION...WEAK EDDY THIS AM AND LOW CLOUDS/FOG WERE INTO MOST OF
ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS AND PARTS OF SAN COASTAL AREAS AND LOCALLY
INTO INLAND SAN VALLEYS. OTHERWISE...CLEAR. 12Z NKX SOUNDING HAD A
STRONG INVERSION BASED NEAR 1500 FT...ABOUT 600 FT HIGHER THAN 24 HOURS
PREVIOUS. DRY WLY WINDS ALOFT.

UPPER TROUGH DEEPENS NEAR THE W COAST INTO THU WITH GRADUALLY DECREASING
HEIGHTS/THICKNESS/850 MB TEMPS FOR A COOLING TREND IN MOST AREAS.
SURFACE LOW CENTERED NEAR SRN NV WILL CONTINUE STRONG ONSHORE GRADIENTS
WITH GUSTY WINDS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS...ESPECIALLY N. HOWEVER...
WINDS SHOULD REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY STRENGTH. SMALLER SCALE MODELS
INDICATE EDDY WILL CONTINUE AND EXPECT CONTINUED DEEPENING OF THE MARINE
LAYER. SHOULD GET SOME HI CLOUDS IN SW FLOW ALOFT THIS EVE INTO WED.
OTHERWISE...FAIR.

LONGER RANGE PROGS NOT IN THE BEST AGREEMENTS BUT GENERALLY INDICATE
WEAKENING TROUGH ALOFT AND UPPER HI BUILDING OVER THE SW FOR A WARMING
TREND AND DECREASING MARINE LAYER.

.SAN...NONE.

ATKIN

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 Diego

When
June 18, 1:00 PM PST to 2:15 PM PST
Where
San Diego County, Pala
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
33.028, -116.770 (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

More

Every storm in California in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in California, 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: 5297175.