Wildfire in Maryland, August 14, 2002

Name: Wildfire in Maryland, August 14, 2002
Start: 2002-08-14T08:00
End: 2002-08-14T23:00
Location: Maryland

August 14, 2002 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A wildfire burned about 390 acres of field and woods in Elk Neck. People were evacuated from the Sandy Hill Campground, but no serious injuries or damage was reported.

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.

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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 PHI wrote it up.

A wildfire burned about 390 acres of field and woods in Elk Neck. People were evacuated from the Sandy Hill Campground, but no serious injuries or damage was reported.

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 14, 2:50 AM EST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 14, 2:50 AM EST, 5 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
350 AM EDT WED AUG 14 2002

DISC: TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE BOARD WERE IN THE MID/UPPER 90S ON TUE
WITH EXCEPTION OF GEORGETOWN DE(100) AND MT. POCONO(89). TODAY IS NOT
GOING TO BE TOO MUCH DIFFERENT ALTHO A SLIGHT INCR IN DPS ESP OVER
THE ERN PART OF FORECAST AREA. STRENGTHENING BERMUDA HIGH WILL REMAIN
SOLID OVER THE WERN ATLC WITH THE WIND TRAJ BECOMING MORE SRLY WITH
MARINE AIR ADVECTING IN FROM THE OCEAN. THIS WILL LOWER TEMPS MAJOR
METRO AREAS ON THU. 80H TEMPS PUSHED INTO EARN PA. WHILE HOT AIR MOVES
W DEW POINTS W/B INCREASING TO THE LOW TO MID 70S ON THU. END RESULT
W/B TO KEEP HEAT WARNINGS UP TODAY AND WILL CONSIDER ADV FOR
OUTLYING AREAS. RECORD TEMPS MAY BE ESTABLISHED AT ABE(95) PHL(95)
ILG(96) RDG(95) TTN(92) AND GED(94). ONLY CAVEAT(S) CLDS/HAZY
CONDITIONS.

NEXT ON THE AGENDA IS THE POTNL FOR CONVECTION. TSTMS IN SCNTRAL
PA/NRN MD AND VA ARE ASSOCIATED WITH LO/MID LVL VORT MAX THAT
EXTNEDED INTO OUR ERN CFA TUE AFTN. CONVECTION FORMED OVER KENT CO
DE AND THERE WERE SOME HEAVY BUILDUPS IN CENTRLA NJ. THIS AXIS OF
INSTABILITY MOVES NE INTO SOUTHERN PA/NERN MD/NRN DE BY 18Z WHERE
PWS ARE 13/4 INCH AND SHIFTS NE INTO SOUTHERN POCONOS AND NW NEW
JERSEY BY EVENING WITH MODEL K VALUE AT 40 00Z. SHOULD KEEP AN EYE
ON OLD BOUNDARY FROM TUE AS FOCUS FOR TODAYS POTENTIAL. AT
MIDNIGHT BOUNDARY WAS EXTENDING FROM ANP-LNS-ABE. OTHER AREA TO
WATCH W/B ALONG SEABREEZE FRONT THAT WILL SET IN BTWEEN 16-17Z.
HAVE ADDED A 30 POP FOR WRN ZNS THIS MORNING AND FOR THIS AFTERNOON
IN NORTHERN ZONES. ANY TSTMS WILL BRING VERY LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OF 1
TO 3 INCHES.

ABE   96  71  90  68 /  30  30  40  30
RDG   96  71  90  68 /  30  30  40  30
PHL   98  76  90  71 /   0  20  40  40
12N   93  69  88  66 /  30  30  40  40
SMQ   95  72  89  69 /  30  30  40  40
TTN   97  74  90  70 /   0  20  40  40
MIV   90  74  85  70 /   0  20  40  40
ACY   84  76  80  73 /   0  20  40  40
ILG   97  74  90  70 /   0  20  40  40
DOV   95  74  88  70 /   0  20  40  40
GED   95  74  88  70 /   0  20  40  40
ESN   95  74  88  70 /   0  20  40  40

BROAD S TO SW FLOW TO CONTINUE ON THE BAY/OCEAN WITH NO FLAGS.

.PHI...
DE...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FOR TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY FOR ZONE
DEZ001.
MD...NONE.
NJ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FOR TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY FOR ZONES
NJZ015...NJZ017>019.
PA...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FOR TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY FOR ZONES
PAZ067>071.

HAVE A GOOD DAY
EBERWINE

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, Cecil

When: August 14, 8:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Cecil County, Elk Neck
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.562, -75.948 (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 Maryland in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Maryland, 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: 5317488.