Wildfire, Grand
- When
- July 17, 12:00 PM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Grand County, 30 mi N of Crescent Jct
- Reported by
- OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
- Coordinates
- 38.982, -109.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Utah, July 17 to 31, 2002
This lightning caused wildfire became known as the County Line Fire. The fire consumed 3504 acres by the end of the month.
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 GJT wrote it up.
This lightning caused wildfire became known as the County Line Fire. The fire consumed 3504 acres by the end of the month. (See August 2002 Storm Data Publication for a continuation of this wildfire)
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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 17, 1:30 AM MST, 10 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 1:30 AM MST, 10 hours 30 minutes before
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 230 AM MDT WED JUL 17 2002 SHOWERS ENDED EARLY THIS MORNING AND CLOUDS WERE DECREASING WITH DIURNAL COOLING. WV IMAGERY SHOWED SUBTROPICAL PLUME EXTENDING NORTHWARD FROM OLD MEXICO ACROSS EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN CO. DEEPEST MOISTURE REMAINED OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN UTAH ACCORDING TO 00Z WED SOUNDINGS AND MODEL ANALYSES. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO RESIDE OVER THE AREA...THOUGH POSITIONING WILL LEAVE DOOR OPEN FOR FLOW OF MONSOONAL MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA. PW VALUES TO REMAIN SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 0.6 AND 0.9 INCHES FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS WITH DEEPEST MOISTURE REMAINING OVER EASTERN UTAH. THEREFORE...WITH LITTLE DYNAMIC FORCING TO SPEAK OF...EXPECT DIURNALLY DRIVEN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND AGAIN ON THURSDAY. TREND TOWARD INCREASED MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO YIELD WETTING RAINS...THEREFORE DOUBT THAT RED FLAG WARNING WILL BE REQUIRED OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. MEANWHILE...MARGINAL INCREASE IN CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO DRIVE TEMPERATURES SLOWLY DOWNWARD. MAV GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO BE TOO COOL WHILE MET LOOKS A BIT WARM FOR SOME AREAS...SO WILL GO SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN. NL FRI-TUE...THE LATEST MEDIUM-RANGE MODEL RUNS SHOW LESS PROGRESSION OF THE RIDGE...NOW KEEPING A POSITION NEAR THE 4-CORNERS. THE GFS SHOWS TROPICAL DISTURBANCES REMAINING IN THE PACIFIC AND NOT PROVIDING A MOIST FETCH FOR THE GREAT BASIN/CENTRAL ROCKIES. LOW CONFIDENCE WITH THESE CHANGES AND WILL LEAVE A BROADBRUSH MONSOON FORECAST FOR THIS PACKAGE. WILL ADD MORE DETAIL WHEN WE ACHIEVE SOME RUN-TO-RUN CONTINUITY. RAMEY WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD MAINTAIN A NORMAL LEVEL OF WEATHER AWARENESS TODAY. BEGINNING FRIDAY JUNE 21, 2002, A HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED ON AN EVENT DRIVEN BASIS FOR COUNTIES IN WESTERN COLORADO AND EXTREME EASTERN UTAH. ON SUNDAY JULY 21, 2002, THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL OFFICIALLY REPLACE THE MESSAGE TO EMERGENCY MANAGERS INCLUDED IN THE EARLY MORNING AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION. THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED USING THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT PRODUCT IDENTIFIER. .GJT...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
- Heat in Missouri, July 17, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 17, 2002
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, July 17, 2002
- Wildfire in California, July 17, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 17, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Montana, July 17, 2002
- Hail in Nevada, July 17, 2002
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, July 17, 2002
- Hail in North Dakota, July 17, 2002
- Waterspout in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, July 17, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Florida, July 17, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, July 17, 2002
More
Every storm in Utah in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, 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: 5317873.