Wildfire in Wyoming, August 11 to 13, 2002

Name: Wildfire in Wyoming, August 11 to 13, 2002
Start: 2002-08-11T15:00
End: 2002-08-13T15:00
Location: Wyoming

August 11 to 13, 2002 · NWS RIW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Vegence Wildfire was started by lightning. The fire burned 600 acres.

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

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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 RIW wrote it up.

The Vegence Wildfire was started by lightning. The fire burned 600 acres.

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 Riverton, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 11, 1:30 PM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 1:30 PM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY
230 PM MDT SUN AUG 11 2002

SUNSHINE SOUTH HALF OF AREA WITH SOME CLOUDS MOVING ACROSS THE NORTH.
FIRST PUSH OF COOLER AIR HAS MADE INTO THE NORTH HALF OF THE AREA.
THIS HAS SLOWED AFTERNOON WARMING FOR THE MOST PART UP NORTH.
FORECAST PROBLEM TONIGHT WILL BE POPS AND TEMPS AS FRONT/TROF MOVE
INTO THE AREA. ISOLATED POPS SEEM BEST IN THE NORTH TONIGHT AS SECOND
PUSH OF COLD AIR MOVES INTO THAT AREA. ON MONDAY UPPER TROF OVER THE
AREA ALONG WITH CURVED UPPER JET MAX. MODELS SHOW LIFT/WEAK
INSTABLITY/LIGHT QPF OVER THE MTNS AND NEARBY VALLEYS. THIS FLOW
PATTERN AND ITS TIMING MONDAY TYPICALLY PRODUCES SOME CONVECTION SO
WILL KEEP POPS WHERE THEY ARE AND REFINE A FEW OTHER ZONES TO ADD
ISOLATED. TROF MOVES OUT MON NT WITH PTCLDY SKY AND COOL LOWS. NW
FLOW FOR TUE AND WED WITH DRY WX AND WARMING TEMPS. MORE SUNSHINE WED
THAN TUE IN THE EAST ZONES AS TUE FEATURES SOME MID/HI LEVEL MOISTURE
IN FLOW. TODAY AVN MODEL NOT SHOWING FRONTAL PUSH INTO E ZONES WED
NIGHT. DRY WEST FLOW ALOFT FOR THU WITH FLOW BACKING TO WSW FRI AHEAD
OF POTENTIAL TROF WHICH COULD IMPACT THE AREA ON SAT. PREVIOUS SHIFT
ADDED POPS TO SAT FORECAST. THEN WNW FLOW ALOFT FOR SUN AND DRY.

.RIW...NONE

AR

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, Sweetwater

When: August 11, 3:00 PM MST to August 13, 3:00 PM MST
Where: Sweetwater County, 19 mi S of Rock Spgs
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 41.660, -108.879 (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

Every storm in Wyoming in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Wyoming, 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: 5314329.