Delaware, 2002

Wildfire in Delaware, August 22 to 23, 2002

August 22 to 23, 2002 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A wildfire consumed about 500 acres of brush, young pine trees and older trees in Farmington. The fire began during the afternoon of the 22nd just northwest of Five Points along Flatiron Road.

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 PHI wrote it up.

A wildfire consumed about 500 acres of brush, young pine trees and older trees in Farmington. The fire began during the afternoon of the 22nd just northwest of Five Points along Flatiron Road. More than 300 firefighters from 32 companies in Maryland and Delaware fought the fire. It was contained on the 23rd.

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 Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 22, 9:03 AM EST, 3 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 9:03 AM EST, 3 hours 57 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1003 AM EDT THU AUG 22 2002

WILL UPDATE FCST TO REFLECT CURRENT CONDS AND TO SPRUCE UP WORDING...
EXPECIALLY WINDS FOR THIS AFTERNOON. FIRST BATCH OF MID AND HIGH
CLOUDS IS IN THE PROCESS OF THINNING OUT...SO PARTLY SUNNY LOOKS
GOOD. MINOR TEMP ADJUSTMENTS SOME ZONES. NO MAJOR CHANGES ATTM
FOR POPS OR PZPN TIMING.

RPW

PREVIOUS DISC...
LOW PRESS WILL CROSS TO OUR N WITH THE BEST DYNAMICS AS ITS
ASSOCIATE FRONT TRAILS ACROSS TONIGHT AND BECOMES NEARLY STATIONARY
TO OUR S. A SECOND AND A BIT MORE VIGOUROUS LOW FORMS ON THE FRONT
AND WILL CROSS THE FA ON SAT WITH HOPEFULLY A BETTER CHANCE OF
PRECIP.

MARINE REMAINS QUIET.

FCSTID =
ABE   87  65  79  57 /  30  40  20  20
RDG   87  65  79  57 /  30  40  20  20
PHL   91  73  85  63 /  20  40  20  20
12N   84  63  75  57 /  40  40  20  20
SMQ   90  69  84  59 /  20  40  20  20
TTN   90  69  84  59 /  20  40  20  20
MIV   91  71  85  65 /  20  40  30  20
ACY   85  70  82  70 /  20  40  30  20
ILG   91  71  85  64 /  20  40  30  20
DOV   91  71  85  65 /  20  40  30  20
GED   87  69  83  67 /  20  40  30  20
ESN   91  71  85  65 /  20  40  30  20

.PHI...
DE...NONE.
MD...NONE.
NJ...NONE.
PA...NONE.
MARINE...NONE.

ZEV

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, Kent

When
August 22, 1:00 PM EST to August 23, 10:00 PM EST
Where
Kent County, Farmington
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.096, -75.505 (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 Delaware in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, August 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: 5318175.