Wildfire, San Diego
- When
- September 3, 2:00 PM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- San Diego County, Camp Pendleton
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in California, September 3, 2003
A brush fire burned 40 acres at Camp Pendleton. No structures were threatened and no injuries were reported.
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 SGX wrote it up.
A brush fire burned 40 acres at Camp Pendleton. No structures were threatened and no injuries were reported.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 3, 1:05 PM PST, 55 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 1:05 PM PST, 55 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA 205 PM PDT WED SEP 3 2003 .SYNOPSIS...MONSOONAL MOISTURE IN SOUTHEAST FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE A THREAT OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN THURSDAY IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC WILL BEGIN TO BRING SOME DRYING THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THIS TROUGH WILL MOVE INLAND ACROSS CALIFORNIA LATE SUNDAY AND MONDAY BRINGING COOLER TEMPERATURES...A DEEPER MARINE LAYER...AND BREEZY CONDITIONS TO THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS BY THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK. .DISCUSSION...LOTS OF CUMULUS AND SOME CONVECTION IN ALL MTN AREAS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. MODERATE ONSHORE GRADIENTS. SO FAR IT HAS BEEN PRETTY TAME EXCEPT FOR SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY WHERE URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING HAS BEEN OBSERVED. ETA AND AVN MODELS DIFFER ON THE DETAILS OF THE UPPER RIDGE WHICH COULD KEEP AFTERNOON CONVECTION ALIVE IN THE MTNS AND DESERTS THROUGH FRI. AVN BUILDS THE HIGH OFF THE N BAJA COAST...WHILE THE ETA KEEPS IT INLAND. LOOKS LIKE DEFINITIVE CHANGES WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE TROUGH IN THE E PACIFIC SLIPS FAR ENOUGH S. THIS MAY NOT BE UNTIL LATE IN THE WEEKEND SO SLIGHT CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN INTO THE WEEKEND. THE AVN MODEL TURNS UPPER FLOW MORE S TOMORROW SO HAVE OPTED TO LEAVE SHOWERS OUT W OF THE MTNS...BUT CANNOT BE CERTAIN UNTIL THE MODELS COME INTO BETTER SHORT TERM AGREEMENT. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS COMING IN LINE WITH THE TROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. THERE ARE TIMING DIFFERENCES...BUT ALL AGREE THAT IT WILL BE SUBSTANTIAL...WITH A DEFINITE END TO THE MONSOON ACTIVITY AND COOLER DAYS EARLY NEXT WEEK. BEYOND THAT...WOULD EXPECT SOME WARMING INTO THE END OF NEXT WEEK. SAN...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 3, 5:00 AM PST, 9 hours before
CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-041300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 600 AM PDT WED SEP 3 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS IN THE AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE. THUNDERSTORMS COULD DRIFT WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS IN THE AFTERNOON. .DAY TWO... THURSDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .DAYS THREE AND SEVEN... FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
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
- High Surf in Puerto Rico, September 3 to 4, 2003
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, September 3 to 4, 2003
- Wildfire in California, September 3 to 30, 2003
- Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in West Virginia, September 3 to 4, 2003
- Wildfire in California, September 3, 2003
- Flash Flooding in Texas, September 3, 2003
- Debris Flow and Hail in California, September 3, 2003
- Flash Flood in Arizona, September 3, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Maryland, September 3 to 4, 2003
- Lightning Strike in Pennsylvania, September 3, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Virginia, September 3, 2003
- Lightning Strikes in Oregon, September 3, 2003
More
Every storm in California in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in California, September 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: 5337472.