Wildfire in California, January 11 to 31, 2003

Name: Wildfire in California, January 11 to 31, 2003
Start: 2003-01-11T04:00
End: 2003-01-31T23:59
Location: California

January 11 to 31, 2003 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 wildfire, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $2.5 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 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 Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 11, 3:00 AM PST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 11, 3:00 AM PST, 1 hour before

INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
300 AM PST SAT JAN 11 2003

WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES OVERHEAD...VALLEY FOG WASTED NO TIME IN
DEVELOPING ACROSS THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE DISTRICT. WITH MOIST
GROUND ACROSS THE ENTIRE VALLEY...BELIEVE FOG WILL SLOWLY EBB
EASTWARD DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT. HOWEVER...MOST
WIDESPREAD DENSE FOG SHOULD REMAIN SITUATED ACROSS THE WESTERN
PORTIONS AS WEAK SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW CONTINUES...AND WILL ACCORDINGLY
HOIST A DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR THE AFFECTED AREA.

FOG SHOULD DISSIPATE ACROSS MOST AREAS AS LLVL INVERSION IS
RELATIVELY SHALLOW AND WEAK. CI/AC WILL STREAM ACROSS OUR SKIES
INTERMITTENTLY AS A NARROW BUT LENGTHY FETCH OF MOISTURE IS DRAWN UP
FROM THE SUBTROPICS AND SEVERAL IMPULSES INTERACT WITH THIS MOISTURE
PLUME. SUBSTANTIVELY ALL PRECIPITATION WILL REMAIN TO OUR NORTH PER
ETA PROGS...ALTHOUGH DID OPT TO THROW IN 10 POPS NR YOSEMITE TONIGHT
THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT DUE TO A PRONOUNCED SOUTHERLY BIAS OF THE
BAROCLINIC ZONE SHOWN BY GFS...AND TO BETTER MESH WITH SURROUNDING
OFFICES. OTHERWISE...RIDGING WILL CONTINUE TO GAIN MOMENTUM AND WILL
ENSURE SUBSTANTIAL VALLEY FOG IN COMING DAYS. WILL ADJUST VALLEY
TEMPERATURES DOWNWARD FOR SUNDAY WITH THIS IN MIND...WHILE ALL OTHER
AREAS SEE MODEST GAINS BROUGHT ON BY GREATER HEIGHTS/THICKNESSES.

BURGER

IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD...MEDIUM RANGE PROGS REMAIN CONSISTENT
INDICATING TEMPORARY BREAKDOWN OF UPPER RIDGE TUES/TUES NGT AS WEAK
SHORTWAVE TROF SHIFTS ONSHORE. OTHER THAN SOME HIGH CLOUDS...LITTLE
IMPACT SHOULD BE EVIDENT OVER THE CWA. OTHERWISE...DRY AND STABLE
PATTERN WILL PREVAIL THRU DAY 7 AS RIDGE UNDERGOES STRONG
AMPLIFICATION WITH H5 HEIGHTS EXCEEDING 580 DM. THOUGH WARMING
AIRMASS WILL SUPPORT ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS IN MTNS/DESERTS...INCREASED
TEMPS ALOFT WILL ALSO STRENGTHEN SJ VALLEY INVERSION ALLOWING NIGHT
AND MORNING FOG TO BECOME WIDESPREAD AND PERSISTENT.

JSN

.HNX...DENSE FOG ADVISORY CENTRAL AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY THIS MORNING.

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 10, 5:45 AM PST, 22 hours 15 minutes before

CAZ089>099-111400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
545 AM PST FRI JAN 10 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT NEAR YOSEMITE PARK TODAY.
(WWUS46 KHNX)

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

AREAS OF FOG WILL AFFECT THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
DURING THE LATE NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING HOURS SATURDAY THROUGH
THURSDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW
ELSEWHERE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

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, Fresno

When: January 11, 4:00 AM PST to January 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Fresno County, 2 mi WNW of (Fch) Chandler Af
Property damage: $2.5 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.758, -119.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Marks-Nielson Fire began in the early morning hours of the 11th of January and continued to burn until February 14th. The fire was spread through 3 acres of woodchips and other debris piled over 20-feet high in spots. It began by spontaneous combustion and caused a health problem due to its soot for much of the Fresno metropolitan area. With a number of agencies involved along with the Federal EPA intervention, the cost of putting the fire out is estimated to be over $2.5M.

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 California in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in California, January 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: 5341865.