California, 2002

Wildfire in California, May 3, 2002

May 3, 2002 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A wildfire along a steep hillside, consumed ten acres before being brought under containment by 100 firefighters. A reversal in wind direction helped contain the fire by pushing it back into burned areas.

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 wildfire along a steep hillside, consumed ten acres before being brought under containment by 100 firefighters. A reversal in wind direction helped contain the fire by pushing it back into burned areas.

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 3, 1:30 PM PST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 3, 1:30 PM PST, 20 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
230 PM PDT FRI MAY 3 2002

.SYNOPSIS...ONSHORE FLOW AND THE MARINE LAYER WILL CONTINUE NIGHT AND
MORNING COASTAL LOW CLOUDS AND FOG...EXTENDING LOCALLY INLAND.
OTHERWISE...FAIR THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...LOW CLOUDS AND LOCAL FOG INTO MOST COASTAL AREAS AND
LOCALLY INLAND THIS AM...MAINLY S. STRATUS QUITE EXTENSIVE OFFSHORE...
OTHERWISE CLEAR. 12Z NKX SOUNDING SHOWED WARMING BELOW 400 MB...BUT
ESPECIALLY NEAR 850 MB. STRONG SW WINDS ALOFT. ONSHORE GRADIENTS WITH
ABOUT 5 MB SAN-IPL.

WEAK CYCLONIC FLOW ALOFT WITH GRADUALLY INCREASING HEIGHTS INTO EARLY
NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL CAUSE A GRADUAL WARMING TREND IN THE MOUNTAINS AND
DESERTS. MINOR CHANGES IN SYNOPTIC SCALE GRADIENTS. HOWEVER...LOCAL
AFTERNOON GRADIENTS WILL PROBABLY INCREASE A LITTLE TO DEVELOPING
THERMAL LOW IN DESERTS. THE MARINE INFLUENCE AND ONSHORE FLOW WILL
MODERATE TEMP INCREASE W OF MOUNTAINS. NIGHT AND MORNING LOW CLOUDS AND
PATCHY FOG WILL CONTINUE TO GET INTO MOST COASTAL AREAS AND LOCALLY
INLAND. OTHERWISE...FAIR THROUGH MON.

LONGER RANGE PROGS INDICATE LITTLE CHANGE INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK
EXCEPT FOR A LITTLE COOLING AS HEIGHTS BEGIN TO DECREASE. DEEPENING
TROUGH TOWARD THE END OF NEXT WEEK FOR MORE CLOUDS/COOLING.

.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, Riverside

When
May 3, 1:50 PM PST to 3:30 PM PST
Where
Riverside County, Moreno Valley
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
33.744, -115.994 (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, 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: 5291421.