North Dakota, 2002

Wildfire in North Dakota, June 28 to 30, 2002

June 28 to 30, 2002 · NWS BIS · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A large grassland fire claimed 12,300 acres in and around the Shields area in southcentral North Dakota. The entire town of Shields was burned to the ground with only a few structures remain standing.

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 BIS wrote it up.

A large grassland fire claimed 12,300 acres in and around the Shields area in southcentral North Dakota. The entire town of Shields was burned to the ground with only a few structures remain standing. The fire was fueled by several days of temperatures above 110 degree's and wind gust up to 40 mph. The fire danger index was in the extreme category. The firewas finally contained on the morning of the 30th.

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 Bismarck, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 28, 1:40 PM CST, 8 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 28, 1:40 PM CST, 8 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
240 PM CDT FRI JUN 28 2002

MAIN FCST CONCERN TODAY WILL BE PSBL RECORD HIGH TEMPS ON SAT AND
TSTMS SAT NIGHT. FOLLOWED AVN FOR DETAILS ALTHOUGH NOT MUCH
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ETA AND AVN. MODELS ARE CONSISTENT IN BECOMING
MORE PROGRESSIVE.

CAP IS WELL IN PLACE AS CONV THAT DEVELOPED OVER SOUTHWEST ND AROUND
18Z WAS QUICKLY SQUASHED. WL BE QUITE UNSTABLE THIS EVNG WITH BEST
BET OF ANY CONV ON EASTERN EDGE OF CAP BUT WL NOT MENTION TSTMS
ATTIM. SAT WL BE ANOTHER SCORCHER AND CONSIDERING PLACEMENT OF SFC
TROF...WL MENTION RECORD HIGHS BIS AND JMS. AS MENTIONED BY PREV
FCST RECORD HIGHS FOR SAT ARE A BIT HIER ELSEWHERE AND NOT LIKELY TO
BE REACHED. VIGOROUS AND QUICK MOVING TROF WL MOVE THROUGH SAT NITE
AND EARLY SUNDAY...WITH VERY DRY ATMS BHND TROF THROUGH SUN AND MON.
LOOKING AT FCST SOUNDINGS...INVERTED V SIGNATURE AND HIGH WBZ...
INDICATE STG WINDS WL BE MAIN SVR THREAT WITH CONV SAT NIGHT.

ANOTHER WK TROF MOVES THROUGH CWA ON MONDAY BUT FAR ERN CWA LOOKS TO
BE ONLY AREA WERE MOISTURE WL BE ABUNDANT ENOUGH FOR PCPN. FOR
REMAINDER OF EXTENDED PD...WE SEE A RETURN TO A WETTER SCENERIO. WL
KEEP CHC OF TRW TUE THROUGH FRIDAY.

.BIS...NONE.

TWH

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, Grant

When
June 28, 10:00 PM CST to June 30, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Grant County, Shields
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
46.358, -101.640 (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 North Dakota in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, June 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: 5309995.