Wildfire, Catron
- When
- April 1, 12:00 PM MST to April 3, 12:00 PM MST
- Where
- Catron County, Central Portion
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 33.915, -108.405 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in New Mexico, April 1 to 3, 2002
A small lightning caused fire that began several days earlier in south central Catron county was fanned into a extremely fast moving wildfire that raced through the tree tops and consumed 37,000 acres of timber and grassland. Crews struggled with little control of the blaze known as the Middle Fire until a storm system moved northeast from the Pacific Ocean and brought welcome higher humidity,…
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 ABQ wrote it up.
A small lightning caused fire that began several days earlier in south central Catron county was fanned into a extremely fast moving wildfire that raced through the tree tops and consumed 37,000 acres of timber and grassland. Crews struggled with little control of the blaze known as the Middle Fire until a storm system moved northeast from the Pacific Ocean and brought welcome higher humidity, plus rain and snow showers that dampened much of the blaze.
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 Albuquerque, NM wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 1, 10:30 AM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 1, 10:30 AM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 1030 AM MST MON APR 1 2002 UPDATED MORNING ZONES TO NUDGE WINDS UP SLIGHTLY IN THE EAST. JWS .ABQ...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
- Avalanche in Alaska, April 1, 2002
- Drought in Georgia, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Colorado, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in New Mexico, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in New Jersey, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Rip Current in Guam, April 1, 2002
- Drought in Georgia, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in New York, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Pennsylvania, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in South Carolina, April 1 to 30, 2002
- High Wind in Hawaii, April 1 to 2, 2002
- Drought in Connecticut, April 1 to 30, 2002
More
Every storm in New Mexico in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 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: 5281005.