Wildfire in California, May 13 to 14, 2002

Name: Wildfire in California, May 13 to 14, 2002
Start: 2002-05-13T11:40
End: 2002-05-14T06:00
Location: California

May 13 to 14, 2002 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Live ammo firing started two brush fires. A total of 1200 acres were consumed before firefighters could bring the fire under control.

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.

Live ammo firing started two brush fires. A total of 1200 acres were consumed before firefighters could bring the fire under control. No structures were damaged and no injuries occurred.

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 May 13, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 10 minutes before

EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
930 AM PDT MON MAY 13 2002

.SYNOPSIS...WEAKENING HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT AND DEVELOPING ONSHORE
FLOW WILL RESULT IN SLIGHTLY COOLER WEATHER IN THE COASTAL SECTIONS
TODAY. CONTINUED VERY WARM IN THE INLAND...MOUNTAIN AND DESERT
AREAS. A WEAK TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE TO THE NORTH WILL BRING MORE
COOLING THROUGH MID WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...THE EFFECTS OF A DEPARTING HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL
PRODUCE ANOTHER VERY WARM DAY TODAY. TEMPERATURES AT 16Z COMPARED TO
YESTERDAY WERE 5 TO 10 DEGREES WARMER IN THE INLAND VALLEYS...MTNS
AND DESERTS...AND 2 TO 5 DEGREES WARMER AT THE COAST. NEUTRAL
GRADIENTS AND LACK OF A MARINE LAYER WILL ALLOW RAPID WARMING THIS
MORNING...THEN PLATEAU THIS AFTERNOON WHEN THE GRADIENTS TURN MORE
STRONGLY ONSHORE AND THE SEA BREEZE KICKS IN. HIGH TEMPS THIS
AFTERNOON WILL BE TRICKY WEST OF THE MTNS AND WILL DEPEND ON THE
ONSET OF THE SEA BREEZE. GRADIENTS BEGIN TO TURN ONSHORE AFTER 18Z
AND BECOME STRONGLY ONSHORE AFTER 21Z. GIVEN THE CURRENT DEGREE OF
WARMING ALREADY THIS MORNING...WILL RAISE TEMPS A COUPLE DEGREES
WEST THE MTNS.

REST OF FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK WITH A SHORTWAVE TROF GRADUALLY
LOWERING HEIGHTS AND TEMPS THROUGH MIDWEEK. MARINE LAYER CLOUDS WILL
REACH A LITTLE FARTHER INLAND EACH NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY...THEN
WARMER FRIDAY AND SATURDAY UNDER A BUILDING RIDGE.

.SAN...NONE.

MOEDE

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: May 13, 11:40 AM PST to May 14, 6:00 AM PST
Where: San Diego County, Camp Pendleton
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

Every storm in California in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, 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: 5291425.