Wildfire in Oregon, July 26 to 29, 2002

Name: Wildfire in Oregon, July 26 to 29, 2002
Start: 2002-07-26T15:50
End: 2002-07-29T19:00
Location: Oregon

July 26 to 29, 2002 · NWS MFR · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A Red Flag Warning was issued for all or part of the above counties at the above times. Fire weather zones 617 through 625 were included in the original warning.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 7

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 for all or part of the above counties at the above times. Fire weather zones 617 through 625 were included in the original warning. The warning for zones 624/625 was for strong north winds and poor overnight RH recoveries. No observations are currently available, but the winds were quite strong in this warning period. The warning was cancelled at 2100 PDT on 07/27.The warning for zones 617-623 was initially for poor overnight recoveries combined with moderate northeast winds across the ridgetops.The warning for zone 617 was cancelled at 0900 PDT on 07/28/02. The warning for the remaining zones remained in place and was extended at 0700 PDT on 07/29/02 for expected Haines Indices of 6. All warnings were cancelled at 1900 PDT on 07/29.No observations are currently available for verification, but the ongoing fires in this area exhibited extreme behavior during the warning period with very strong winds reported by fire weather personnel. Even if the warning criteria was not strictly met, the forecasters on-station and in the field felt that conditions were critical enough due to ongoing fires and dense, dry fuels in the area.

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 Jul 26, 1:30 PM PST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 26, 1:30 PM PST, 2 hours 20 minutes before

SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
230 PM PDT FRI JUL 26 2002

12Z ETA/NGM/AVN IN.  00Z MRF IN.

SOME LOW CLOUDS AND FOG THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE COAST NORTH OF CAPE
BLANCO AND IN THE WESTERN UMPQUA.  OTHER THAN THAT JUST A FEW PATCHES
OF CUMULUS AND LOTS OF SMOKE AND HAZE OVER SOUTHERN OREGON/NORTHERN
CALIFORNIA WITH VISIBILITIES AS LOW AS 4 NM AT SISKIYOU COUNTY
AIRPORT NEAR YREKA.

HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT TO THE WEST WILL BE THE DOMINATE FACTOR IN THE
WEATHER FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS...SUSTAINING DRY NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT
OVER THE AREA.  A SHORT WAVE WILL MOVE OVER THE RIDGE AND THROUGH
EASTERN OREGON TONIGHT AND SATURDAY.  THIS WILL BRING SOME GUSTY
NORTH WINDS TO THE RIDGES AND EAST SIDE AND SLIGHTLY COOLER
TEMPERATURES TO THE ENTIRE AREA SATURDAY...ALONG WITH SOME POORER
THAN NORMAL RH RECOVERIES SATURDAY NIGHT.  IT WILL LIKELY CRANK UP
THE MARINE LAYER AS WELL...SO EXPECT HIGHER CEILINGS ALONG THE COAST.
THE NORTH-NORTHEAST WINDS WILL RESTRICT INLAND PROGRESS OF THE MARINE
LAYER INTO THE UMPQUA BASIN...BUT STILL EXPECT GRADUALLY INCREASING
INLAND PROGRESS OF THE CLOUDS THERE.  IN CONTRAST THE SOUTH COAST
WILL REMAIN CLEAR AS THE THERMAL TROUGH MOVES TO THE COAST AND BRINGS
SOME OFFSHORE FLOW WITH IT.

SUNDAY WILL BE WARMER AS THE UPPER RIDGE REBUILDS OVER THE AREA.  IN
AREAS NOT AFFECTED BY THE MARINE LAYER...MOSTLY CLEAR BUT SMOKY SKIES
THROUGH SUNDAY.

ZONAL FLOW DEVELOPS OVER THE AREA MONDAY AND TUESDAY...BUT HEIGHTS
CHANGE LITTLE AND THE STORM TRACK REMAINS WELL TO THE NORTH OF THE
AREA...SO NOT MUCH CHANGE IN SENSIBLE WEATHER THEN.  AN UPPER TROUGH
WILL MOVE INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.  THE
NCEP ENSEMBLES INDICATE THAT THE MRF SOLUTION IS A STABLE ONE...AND
THE EC CANADA ENSEMBLES SUGGEST THE TROUGH MAY BE SLIGHTLY DEEPER
THAN THE CURRENT FORECAST.  IN EITHER CASE THE TROUGH DOESNT LOOK
STRONG ENOUGH TO BRING ANY PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA...BUT IT WILL
CRANK UP THE MARINE LAYER DEPTH AND BRING IN COOLER TEMPERATURES.
THE TIME SECTIONS INDICATE SOME HIGH LEVEL MOISTURE WILL COME IN
BEGINNING THURSDAY...SO WILL ADD SOME CLOUDS TO THE FORECAST THURSDAY
AND FRIDAY.

STOCKTON

.MFR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...CAPE BLANCO OR TO POINT 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

7 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Coos

When: July 26, 3:50 PM PST to July 29, 7:00 PM 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: July 26, 3:50 PM PST to July 29, 7:00 PM 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, Douglas

When: July 26, 3:50 PM PST to July 28, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Douglas County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.285, -123.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, Josephine

When: July 26, 3:50 PM PST to July 29, 7:00 PM 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: July 26, 3:50 PM PST to July 29, 7:00 PM 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.

Wildfire, Klamath

When: July 26, 3:50 PM PST to July 27, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Klamath County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.686, -121.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, Lake

When: July 26, 3:50 PM PST to July 27, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Lake County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.793, -120.387 (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, July 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: 5304241, 5304242, 5304243, 5304244, 5304245, 5304246, 5304247.