Wildfire in Arizona, July 1 to 15, 2003

Name: Wildfire in Arizona, July 1 to 15, 2003
Start: 2003-07-01T00:00
End: 2003-07-15T23:00
Location: Arizona

July 1 to 15, 2003 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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: $66 million
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 TWC wrote it up.

The Aspen wildfire started on June 17th in the Catalina Mountains by an unknown hiker on the Marshall Gulch and Aspen Loop trail. The Fire was first observed on the south face portion of Marshall Peak around 7000 feet. On June 19th, winds increased across Southeast Arizona with the highest winds recorded at Hopkins RAWS site (south of Catalina Mountains). Sustained winds of 23 knots (26 mph) and gusts up to 42 knots (48 mph) were recorded at this site for one hour during the afternoon. The combination of strong winds and low relative humidity pushed the fire northeast into the town of Summerhaven on top of Mt. Lemmon. Numerous structures were destroyed including the Alpine Lodge, Pima county transportation facility, Post Office, and many others. In all the fire consumed a total of 84,750 acres and 333 structures lost. Damage estimates indicated total poperty damage was $66 million, supression costs were $16 milliion, and loss of trees and resources were $33 million.

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 Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 30, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 30, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
900 PM MST MON JUN 30 2003

.SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE OVER SOUTHWESTERN STATES IS SHIFTING INTO
A POSITION WHICH MAY ALLOW MORE MOISTURE INTO THE AREA FROM NORTHERN
MEXICO. EXPECT A FEW BUILDUPS OVER MOUNTAINS TO CONTINUE EARLY IN
THE WEEK...BEFORE DEEPER MOISTURE MOVES IN AROUND MID WEEK WITH A
SUBSEQUENT INCREASE IN THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE.

.DISCUSSION...WEAK MOISTURE FLUCTUATIONS CONTINUE ACROSS THE
SOUTHERN HALF OF THE STATE. A PROMISING 1 INCH OF PRECIPITABLE WATER
ON THE MORNING SOUNDING DRIED TO .78 WITH THE 00Z KTUS RAOB. THERE
CONTINUES TO BE FAIRLY EXTENSIVE CONVECTION IN SONORA WITH THE
DEEPER MOISTURE. A CONSOLIDATION OF THE HIGH CENTER TO OUR NORTH
SHOULD ALLOW SOME OF THIS TO SPREAD IN BY WEDNESDAY OR SO. A STRONG
CHANCE THIS WILL ALSO BE REINFORCED BY DEEP OUTFLOW FROM ORGANIZED
CONVECTION TO OUR SOUTH. ADD TO THAT FAVORABLE UPPER LEVEL
CONDITIONS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...AND WE HAVE AN INCREASE IN THE
FORECASTED COVERAGE FOR THUNDERSTORMS. RIGHT NOW THE EMPHASIS IS ON
AREAS AROUND MOUNTAINS AND NEAR THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER. STILL
UNCERTAIN BEYOND THE END OF THE WEEK...BUT AT THIS POINT IT WOULD BE
HARD TO COMPLETELY SCOUR THE MOISTURE OUT...SO A TENTATIVE ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORM FORECAST IS PRUDENT WITH REFINEMENT AS WE GET CLOSER.
CURRENT FORECAST PACKAGE REPRESENTS THIS FAIRLY WELL...BUT WEDNESDAY
OR THURSDAY COULD END UP BEING MORE ACTIVE THAN WE ARE CURRENTLY
ADVERTISING. M

.TWC...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 30, 11:30 AM MST, 12 hours 30 minutes before

AZZ019-029>035-011400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1130 AM MST MON JUN 30 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

SYNOPSIS...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE CONTINUES TO MOVE NORTHWARD INTO
ARIZONA...WITH THE BEST MOISTURE SOUTH OF A LINE FROM SELLS TO
TUCSON AND SIERRA VISTA. THIS SHOULD ALLOW MOUNTAIN THUNDERSTORMS TO
FORM THIS AFTERNOON WITH A FEW MOVING INTO VALLEYS ESPECIALLY ACROSS
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY.

DISCUSSION...SHALLOW GULF SURGE AGAIN THIS MORNING HAS RESULTED IN
LOW LEVEL DEW POINTS GETTING BACK UP TO MID 50S ACROSS CENTRAL PIMA
AND SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES THIS MORNING. YESTERDAY THIS MOISTURE MIXED
OUT WITH DRY AIR ALOFT LIMITING THUNDERSTORMS...BUT TODAY THERE IS A
DECENT AMOUNT OF MID LEVEL MOISTURE ACROSS THE SAME AREA WITH THE
LOW LEVEL MOISTURE SO THERE SHOULD BE AN INCREASE IN THUNDERSTORMS
THIS AFTERNOON. THE WHITE MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN HALF OF COCHISE
COUNTY STILL ARE ON THE LOW END FOR AVAILABLE MOISTURE...WITH LESS
THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL IN THOSE LOCATIONS. WESTERN PIMA COUNTY
SHOULD BE FREE OF THUNDERSTORMS. SO THE FOCUS OF ANY HEAVY
PRECIPITATION OR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE FROM THE HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS
WEST INTO SANTA CRUZ COUNTY AND POSSIBLY THE SASABE AREA.
STILL...HEAVY RAIN CHANCES AND SEVERE POTENTIAL WILL BE LOW.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE TO THE SOUTHWEST TO WEST AT 10 MPH.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

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, Pima

When: July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 15, 11:00 PM MST
Where: Pima County, Summerhaven
Property damage: $66 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 32.097, -111.790 (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 Arizona in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, July 2003

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: 5330440.