Wildfire in Colorado, June 22 to 30, 2002

Name: Wildfire in Colorado, June 22 to 30, 2002
Start: 2002-06-22T14:00
End: 2002-06-30T23:59
Location: Colorado

June 22 to 30, 2002 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning started a wildfire on Pinyon Ridge, and the fire was consequently named the Pinyon Ridge Fire. This fire persisted beyond the end of the month.

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

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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 GJT wrote it up.

Lightning started a wildfire on Pinyon Ridge, and the fire was consequently named the Pinyon Ridge Fire. This fire persisted beyond the end of the month. See the July 2002 Storm Data publication for a continuation of this wildfire report.

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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 22, 1:02 PM MST, 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 22, 1:02 PM MST, 58 minutes before

WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
202 PM MDT SAT JUN 22 2002

MAIN BATCH OF ENERGY WITH THE NEGATIVE TILT UPPER TROUGH WHICH PASSED
OVER THE AREA EARLIER TODAY CONTINUES LIFT NORTH. SATELLITE DATA AND
88D INDICATING DRIER AND MORE STABLE AIR SPREADING ACROSS THE
FORECAST AREA BEHIND THE TROUGH. MAY SEE AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR
THUNDERSTORM ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAIN ZONES THROUGH EARLY
EVENING. VAD WIND PROFILE SHOWING A DEEP SOUTHWEST FLOW ACROSS THE
AREA. THIS COMBINED WITH GOOD MIXING AND MODERATE PRESSURE GRADIENTS
IS PRODUCING SOME STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS. THIS COMBINED WITH FALLING
DEW POINTS HAS PROMPTED THE ISSUANCE OF A RED FLAG WARNING FOR MUCH
OF THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN FIRE WEATHER ZONES THROUGH EARLY EVENING.
WINDS WILL DIMINISH WITH SUNSET AS BOUNDARY LAYER STABILIZES AND THE
FLOW ALOFT DECREASES. LOWER DEW POINTS TONIGHT AND LESS CLOUDS WILL
ALLOW FOR COOLER OVERNIGHT LOWS.

AN UPPER RIDGE WILL BEGIN TO BUILD OVER THE AREA SUNDAY WITH WARMER
TEMPERATURES AND CONTINUED DRYING OF THE AIRMASS. EXPECT SOME
AFTERNOON CUMULUS OVER THE MOUNTAINS SUNDAY...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE
DIVIDE. SUNNY SKIES WILL PREVAIL ELSEWHERE. SOUTHWEST WEST ALOFT WILL
CONTINUE TO WEAKEN WITH A RETURN TO MORE OF A THERMALLY DRIVEN
DIURNAL WIND REGIME ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. LIGHTER WINDS SHOULD
HELP OUT WITH THE FIRES BUT RH WILL BE LOWER. WARMING TREND WILL
CONTINUE MONDAY WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AS THE UPPER RIDGE
STRENGTHENS OVER THE FOUR CORNERS AREA. TAL

EXTENDED (TUE-SAT)...AMPLIFYING WESTERN U.S. RIDGE WILL MEAN A
CONTINUATION OF WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. A WEEK
WAVE LOOKS TO MOVE THROUGH THE RIDGE ON THURSDAY...BUT WILL LIKELY
BE TOO FAR NORTH TO AFFECT THIS CWA. SO, I SEE NO REASON TO CHANGE
EXTENDED...JUST BROADBRUSH THE WARM AND DRY EMPHASIS.  BA

BEGINNING FRIDAY JUNE 21, 2002, A HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE
ISSUED ON AN EVENT DRIVEN BASIS FOR COUNTIES IN WESTERN COLORADO AND
EXTREME EASTERN UTAH.  ON SUNDAY JULY 21, 2002, THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER
OUTLOOK WILL OFFICIALLY REPLACE THE MESSAGE TO EMERGENCY MANAGERS
INCLUDED IN THE EARLY MORNING AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION.  THE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED USING THE SPECIAL WEATHER
STATEMENT PRODUCT IDENTIFIER.

.GJT...RED FLAG WARNING THROUGH 900 PM FOR COLORADO FIRE ZONES
       201, 203, 205...AND NORTHEAST UTAH FIRE ZONES 442, 443, 444.

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, Moffat

When: June 22, 2:00 PM MST to June 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Moffat County, 9 mi SSE of Elk Spgs
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.618, -108.207 (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 Colorado in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, 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: 5304218.