Named the Locust Fire, this wildfire consumed 1889 acres between north Moreno Valley and Redlands before being fully contained. Several homes were threatened and evacuations were ordered.
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 episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.
Named the Locust Fire, this wildfire consumed 1889 acres between north Moreno Valley and Redlands before being fully contained. Several homes were threatened and evacuations were ordered. A hiker suffered burns, when he jumped through the fire front. Two fire fighters were injured, one from minor burns, the other from smoke inhalation. Property damage was confined to a mobile home, a moving van, a dozen cars, several out-buildings, power lines, and an orchard of citrus trees. Smoke and ash from the fire was observed as far north as Lake Arrowhead. The cost of fighting the fire was estimated at $1.1 million.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 18, 2:30 AM PST, 10 hours 20 minutes earlier.
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA 330 AM PDT MON AUG 18 2003 .SYNOPSIS...THE COASTAL MARINE LAYER WILL TEMPORARILY DEEPEN THIS MORNING...THEN BEGIN LOWERING THIS AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY. SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE WILL INCREASE BY WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEK FOR POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. A SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA BY SUNDAY WITH DRIER AIR MOVING IN. .DISCUSSION...THE EDDY HAS DEEPENED THE MARINE LAYER UP ENOUGH TO GET LOW CLOUDS INTO THE VALLEYS OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY. THE LOW CLOUDS WILL LIKELY STAY OUT OF THE INLAND EMPIRE. THIS DEEPEING IS EXPECTED TO BE TEMPORARY. THIS MAY LOWER COASTAL HIGH TEMPERATURES A BIT TODAY. THE EDDY IS EXPECTED TO DISSIPATE THIS AFTERNOON. MONSOONAL MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH INTO THIS AREA AT TIMES. THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORMS ALL MOUNTAIN AND DESERT AREAS INTO THE WEEKEND...WITH THE BEST CHANCES ON WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY. SAN...NONE. SMALL
HWOSGX CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-191300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 600 AM PDT MON AUG 18 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS EACH AFTERNOON FOR SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS... RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS... SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS... APPLE AND YUCCA VALLEYS... WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. MACKECHNIE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 2003
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: 5369451.