Wildfire in Colorado, September 1 to 14, 2002

Name: Wildfire in Colorado, September 1 to 14, 2002
Start: 2002-09-01T00:00
End: 2002-09-14T16:00
Location: Colorado

September 1 to 14, 2002 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Mount Zirkel Complex was comprised of the Burn Ridge and Hinman fires. These were lightning caused fires which began in July and August.

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.

The Mount Zirkel Complex was comprised of the Burn Ridge and Hinman fires. These were lightning caused fires which began in July and August. This complex was located in the Routt National Forest/Mount Zirkel Wilderness area. The fires consumed 31,016 acres of timber. Favorable weather conditions and precipitation received the first couple weeks of September resulted in minimal fire behavior. The complex was placed in monitor status on the 14th of September at 95 percent containment. The cost of fighting the fires was 13.3 million dollars.

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 Aug 31, 1:02 PM MST, 10 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 1:02 PM MST, 10 hours 58 minutes before

WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
202 PM MDT SAT AUG 31 2002

DEEP SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER THE FORECAST AREA AHEAD OF AN UPPER TROUGH
MOVING ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. TAIL END OF THE TROUGH WILL PASS
THROUGH LATE TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...VEERING WINDS TO THE WEST AND
NORTHWEST. MOISTURE IS LACKING ACROSS THE AREA AND EXPECT ONLY
ISOLATED HIGH BASED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH EARLY EVENING ACROSS THE
MOUNTAINS NEAR THE DIVIDE. UPPER JET SHOULD PROVIDE ENOUGH LIFT FOR
SOME CLOUDS ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT EXCEPT NORTHEAST UTAH AND FAR
NORTHWEST COLORADO.

DRIER AIR ADVECTS INTO THE AREA SUNDAY. ENOUGH MOISTURE AND JET
DYNAMICS DURING PEAK HEATING ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN COLORADO FOR ISOLATED AFTERNOON POPS. EXCEPT FOR
GUSTY WINDS WITH ISOLATED STORMS...WEAK GRADIENT FLOW WILL ALLOW
DIURNAL TERRAIN DRIVEN WINDS TO PREVAIL. PERSISTENCE TEMP FORECAST
SUNDAY.

FURTHER DRYING OF THE AIRMASS SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. A LITTLE
MID LEVEL MOISTURE PROGGED ACROSS SOUTHWEST COLORADO MONDAY. LITTLE
TO NO LARGE SCALE FORCING BUT LOCAL CONVERGENCE ACROSS HIGH TERRAIN
MAY BE ENOUGH FOR AN ISOLATED STORM ACROSS THE SAN JUAN RANGE...ELK
AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS. WILL USE ETA TEMPS MONDAY FOR NEAR PERSISTENCE
FORECAST. AMPLIFICATION OF THE PATTERN MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY AS
A WEST COAST TROUGH DEVELOPS. FLOW TURNS SOUTHWEST BY TUESDAY
AFTERNOON WITH INCREASING MOISTURE. MODELS GENERATE AN UPPER
DIVERGENCE MAX OVER SOUTHWEST COLORADO. TUESDAY LOOKS LIKE THE
BEGINNING OF A MOIST AND UNSETTLED PERIOD. LINDQUIST

EXTENDED (WED-SAT)...WEST COAST TROUGH PROGRESSION IS SLOWER IN THE
EC/UK...AND THE 12Z AVN IS SIMILAR AND SLOWER THAN LAST NIGHTS GFS.
TROUGH PASSAGE ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER NOW OCCURS ON FRIDAY AND
SUSPECT IT MAYBE LATER YET. SO WITH THE NEW MEXICO HIGH DOMINANT AND
ALLOWING A MONSOONAL BLOOM...WILL KEEP POPS IN FOR FRIDAY.  AS TROUGH
APPROACHES...GRADIENT TIGHTENS ACROSS THE NORTH FOR WINDY CONDITIONS.
WILL INTRODUCE SATURDAY AS DRY...BUT A SLOWER PROGRESSION COULD MEAN
POPS CONTINUE THEN.   RAMEY

.GJT...NONE.

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, Routt

When: September 1, 12:00 AM MST to September 14, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Routt County, 23 mi N of Steamboat Spgs
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 40.485, -106.991 (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, September 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: 5320834.