Wildfire in Oregon, August 7 to 10, 2002

Name: Wildfire in Oregon, August 7 to 10, 2002
Start: 2002-08-07T04:10
End: 2002-08-10T11:45
Location: Oregon

August 7 to 10, 2002 · NWS MFR · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A Red Flag Warning was issued at the above times for fire weather zones 618/619/620/621 for forecast poor relative humidity recoveries. Major wildfires were ongoing in the warning area.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 MFR wrote it up.

A Red Flag Warning was issued at the above times for fire weather zones 618/619/620/621 for forecast poor relative humidity recoveries. Major wildfires were ongoing in the warning area. The warning was not really countywide for Coos (extreme southern portion only) or Jackson (western portion only) counties...but it did include all of Curry and Josephine counties. This warning verified all three nights at the Red Mound RAWS, a critical station near the fires in Zone 618, but not at other RAWS in the remaining zones. Still, given the critical situation, this warning was likely warranted, as field conditions were at historically dry levels.

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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 7, 2:45 AM PST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 7, 2:45 AM PST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
230 AM PDT WED AUG 07 2002

THE INHERITED FORECAST LOOKS QUITE GOOD WITH VERY CONSISTENT DATA
FROM THE NEW MODEL RUNS. MAIN ITEMS OF INTEREST ARE A WARMING TREND
INTO THE WEEKEND WITH NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS. CLEAR SKIES WILL BE
THE RULE WITH NOTABLE EXCEPTION OF AREAS OF SMOKE...MOSTLY OVER
EASTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY...NORTHERN JACKSON COUNTY...SOUTHERN CURRY
COUNTY...AND WESTERN JOSEPHINE COUNTY.

THE WARM-UP IS DUE TO HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC
THAT WILL BUILD ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THROUGH FRIDAY. AT THE
SURFACE...A THERMAL TROUGH WILL BUILD OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TODAY
AND EXTEND NORTH ALONG THE OREGON COAST TONIGHT. WILL HAVE A RATHER
TYPICAL SUMMER-TIME PATTERN INTO FRIDAY NIGHT WITH THE THERMAL TROUGH
MOVING INLAND DURING THE DAY AND RETREATING TO THE COAST AT NIGHT.
RESULT WILL BE GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS OVER THE RIDGES OF THE COASTAL
RANGE...VERY WARM TEMPERATURES ALONG THE SOUTH COAST AND A RETURN OF
NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES INLAND. THE OFFSHORE FLOW WILL PEAK THURSDAY
NIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING.

BY SATURDAY...AN UPPER TROUGH WILL MOVE INTO WASHINGTON AND WEAKEN
THE RIDGE. THIS FAR SOUTH WILL SEE A SHIFT TO NORTHWEST WINDS...A
BRIEF INCREASE IN CLOUDS AND PERHAPS A MOMENTARY SPRINKLE NEAR NORTH
BEND SATURDAY EVENING.  THIS WILL BE A BRIEF CHANGE WITH RIDGING
ACROSS OUR REGION AGAIN FROM THE WEST SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. DW

.MFR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CAPE BLANCO OR TO PT ST GEORGE CA.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Coos

When: August 7, 4:10 AM PST to August 10, 11:45 AM PST
Where: Coos County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.185, -124.093 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, Curry

When: August 7, 4:10 AM PST to August 10, 11:45 AM PST
Where: Curry County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.467, -124.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, Josephine

When: August 7, 4:10 AM PST to August 10, 11:45 AM PST
Where: Josephine County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.366, -123.556 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below

Wildfire, Jackson

When: August 7, 4:10 AM PST to August 10, 11:45 AM PST
Where: Jackson County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.432, -122.728 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below...

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 Oregon in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, 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: 5309724, 5309725, 5309726, 5309727.