The Missionary Ridge fire began in early June (see the June 2002 Storm Data publication) and was contained on July 17th . The fire destroyed approximately 50 homes and 22 other structures.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
The Missionary Ridge fire began in early June (see the June 2002 Storm Data publication) and was contained on July 17th . The fire destroyed approximately 50 homes and 22 other structures. The fire consumed over 70,000 acres. The cost of fighting the fire exceeded 40 million dollars.
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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 30, 3:35 PM MST, 8 hours 25 minutes earlier.
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 435 PM MDT SUN JUN 30 2002 DRY AND HOT CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE THRU TUE AS RIDGE DOMINATES. FLOW ALOFT WILL BE VERY LIGHT...VARYING BETWEEN WEST AND NORTHWEST MON AND TUE. VERY UNSTABLE WITH LITTLE OR NO CAP EVIDENT ON FCST SOUNDINGS SO PLUME-DOMINATED WILDFIRE GROWTH SHOULD NO ABATE NEXT 2 DAYS. TUE MODELS SHOW MOISTURE INCREASING FROM THE SE AS THERMAL SFC LOW SETS UP OVER DESERT SW AND HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER WRN GULF OF MEX. TUE EVENING THIS APPEARS CONCENTRATED ALONG THE CONT DVD AND FRONT RANGE...THEN WED THIS FLOW INCREASES AND MOVES FURTHER WEST. THUS AFFECTING MORE OF WESTERN COLORADO. WILL EMPHASIZE THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE AREA WED. WILL GO WITH PERSISTENCE HOT AND DRY CONDITIONS AS IN THE MODEL GUIDANCE THRU TUE...THEN AS MOISTURE/CLOUDS INCREASE SHOULD SEE SOME COOLING WED. CJC .EXTENDED (THU-SUN).. GULF OF ALASKA LOW PROGGED TO MOVE INTO CANADA WITH A CA BAJA LOW COUPLING WITH HIGH IN SE US BRINGING A MORE SOUTH FLOW AND AN INCREASE IN MOISTURE TO THE CWFA. AS NEXT WEST COAST TROUGH TIGHTENS UP BY THE WEEKEND WILL SEE A DRYER SW FLOW ON SUNDAY. CURRENT FORECAST HAS GOOD HANDLE ON THIS SO WILL ADD SUNDAY WITH SLIGHT CHANCE OF PCPN. TEMPS TO REMAIN AT OR ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD. DJC/21 .GJT...NONE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, July 2002
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: 5311502.