1 wildfire, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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.
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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 22, 7:45 PM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 845 PM PDT MON JUL 22 2002 MAIN WEATHER CONCERN IS STILL FOR WILDFIRE CONDITIONS WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR DRY THUNDERSTORMS AND ASSOCIATED GUSTY WINDS DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS. CURRENTLY THERE ARE THUNDERSTORMS (MOSTLY DRY) THAT ARE MOVING NORTH ACROSS SOUTHERN OREGON COUNTIES INTO OUR WARNING AREA. THERE HAVE BEEN LIGHTING STRIKES IN WHEELER AND GRANT COUNTY AS WELL AS DESCHUTES COUNTY. THE STORMS FURTHER SOUTH HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO CONTAIN SOME RAIN...BUT MOST OF THE STORMS ARE DRY. THEY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHWARD AND ACROSS THE REDMOND/BEND AREAS AS WELL AS THE OCHOCO AND STRAWBERRY MOUNTAIN RANGES OF EAST CENTRAL OREGON OVERNIGHT. AS THESE STORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHWARD OVERNIGHT THEY WILL LIKELY PRODUCE FREQUENT LIGHTNING OVER THE SOUTHERN AREAS OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH LITTLE OR NO RAINFALL. THEREFORE THE CURRENT RED FLAG WARNING FOR CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL OREGON STILL LOOKS GOOD FOR TONIGHT. TEMPERATURES WERE HELD DOWN TODAY A FEW DEGREES DUE TO THE INCREASED MID AND HIGH CLOUD COVER...BUT FORECASTS ARE STILL SHOWING SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPERATURES FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY THAN TODAY. HOWEVER WITH MORE CLOUD COVER ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...TEMPERATURES MAY STILL BE HELD DOWN A FEW DEGREES THAN WHAT IS FORECAST BY THE COMPUTER GENERATED MODELS. HOWEVER...SOME AREAS OF THE LOWER VALLEYS AND COLUMBIA BASIN MAY STILL SEE SOME TEMPERATURES TOPPING 100 DEGREES. THE UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT IS ALONG THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST HAS WEAKENED SOMEWHAT AND IS MOVING SLOWER THAN PREVIOUSLY. HOWEVER IT IS STILL PRODUCING A WARM AND UNSTABLE SOUTHERLY FLOW OVER THE FORECAST AREA....BUT IT WILL TAKE MORE TIME FOR IT TO PASS THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. AS A RESULT LOOK FOR THE HOT AND UNSTABLE CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK WITH NOT MUCH CHANGE EXPECTED UNTIL SOMETIME DURING THE COMING WEEKEND. RSC. PDT 0233 ALW 0233 PSC 0222 YKM 0222 KPDT...VCP32/CLEAR AIR...OPERATIONAL. .KPDT...RED FLAG WARNING FOR ZONES 630 AND 632 TONIGHT SOUTH OF A LINE FROM LONG CREEK TO REDMOND...INCLUDING THE OCHOCO AND STRAWBERRY MOUNTAINS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Sheldon Ridge Fire, sparked by lightning, consumed 12,681 acres and eight structures, all of which were out buildings. Around 250 homes were threatened by the flames. Oregon National Guard Troops assisted in battling the flames.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, July 2002
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: 5307262.