Wildfire, Cecil
- When
- February 18, 8:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Cecil County, 3 mi W of Elkton
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 39.562, -75.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Maryland, February 18, 2002
A brush fire, which spread quicker because of the unseasonably dry weather, burned 10 acres of land. The fire occurred about halfway between Elkton and North East.
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
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 brush fire, which spread quicker because of the unseasonably dry weather, burned 10 acres of land. The fire occurred about halfway between Elkton and North East.
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 Feb 18, 3:33 AM EST, 4 hours 27 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 18, 3:33 AM EST, 4 hours 27 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 333 AM EST MON FEB 18 2002 LAST BATCH OF CLDS APPR TO HAVE ROTD S ALG THE NJ CST...AND WHAT CLDS ARE LEFT IN ERN PA APPR TO BE DSIPTG ATTM. THUS GOING WITH SUNNY FCST TDA WITH NWLY WNDS SLOLY DMSHG. THINGS LOOK DRY TIL WED. KEEPING LKLY POPS FOR RAIN WED AFTN AND EVE. SYS TWD THE END OF THE WK STILL A BIT HAZY...AS FAR AS TIMING AND PCPN TYPE...AND WL KEEP WHAT WE HAVE RUNNING NOW. NO CHGS TO MARINE FCST...XCP LWRG GALE TO SML CRAFT UPR DE BAY. ZONES WIBIS BY 4 AM. .PHI...GALE WRNG CST AND LWR DE BAY. SML CRAFT ADVY UPR DE BAY. KRAUS
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
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 Maryland in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, February 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: 5282737.