Wildfire, Allegany
- When
- March 1, 11:30 AM EST to March 13, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Allegany County, West Portion
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 39.622, -78.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Maryland, March 1 to 13, 2002
Drought conditions resulted in very dry timber and brush. This caused a brush fire that began on Wills Mountain on March 1st to quickly spread.
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 LWX wrote it up.
Drought conditions resulted in very dry timber and brush. This caused a brush fire that began on Wills Mountain on March 1st to quickly spread. The fire burned 100 acres of woodland before being contained on the 2nd. The fire was extinguished on the 13th.
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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 9:45 AM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 9:45 AM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 945 AM EST FRI MAR 1 2002 LITTLE CI ACROSS THE AREA OTHERWISE A NICE DAY...CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS GOOD. JUST SOME MINOR WORDING CHANGES FOR CURRENT TRENDS. .LWX... DC...NONE. MD...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE. MARINE...NONE.
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
- Hurricane in Guam, March 1 to 4, 2002
- High Wind in Nevada, March 1, 2002
- Extreme Cold in Georgia, March 1 to 5, 2002
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 1, 2002
- High Wind in Louisiana, March 1, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, March 1 to 2, 2002
- Winter Storm in Kansas, March 1 to 2, 2002
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, March 1 to 2, 2002
- High Wind in California, March 1, 2002
- Drought in New Mexico, March 1 to 31, 2002
- Winter Storm in Iowa, March 1 to 3, 2002
- Drought in New Jersey, March 1 to 31, 2002
More
Every storm in Maryland in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, March 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: 5293746.