Wildfire, Rio Blanco
- When
- July 23, 2:00 PM MST to July 31, 1:00 PM MST
- Where
- Rio Blanco County, 30 mi S of Rangely
- Reported by
- GOVT OFFICIAL
- Coordinates
- 39.980, -108.217 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Colorado, July 23 to 31, 2003
Lightning was the probable cause of this wildfire which became known as the Red Rock Fire. The fire occurred on Bureau of Land Management public lands and threatened one residence and one commercial property.
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 GJT wrote it up.
Lightning was the probable cause of this wildfire which became known as the Red Rock Fire. The fire occurred on Bureau of Land Management public lands and threatened one residence and one commercial property. The fire consumed 134 acres of pinyon pine and juniper forest.
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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 23, 1:14 PM MST, 46 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 1:14 PM MST, 46 minutes before
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 214 PM MDT WED JUL 23 2003 SHORT-TERM DISCUSSION (TODAY-THURSDAY)... HIGH PRESSURE CENTER LOCATED IN THE VICINITY OF THE NORTHERN UTAH AND NEVADA BORDER. CLOCKWISE FLOW AROUND THE HIGH IS PRODUCING A NORTH FLOW OVER THE FORECAST AREA. MOIST ENVIRONMENT ACROSS THE AREA WITH MORNING RAOBS SHOWING PRECIPITABLE WATER AROUND ONE INCH. A WEAK WAVE IS MOVING SOUTH ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA AND PROVIDED ENOUGH FORCING TO KEEP ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS GOING THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS. THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY INCREASING IN AREAL COVERAGE ACROSS THE SOUTH AHEAD OF THE WAVE. SURFACE HEATING ALONE GENERATING ENOUGH INSTABILITY AND FORCING ACROSS THE NORTH FOR ISOLATED STORMS TO DEVELOP. ALSO LOOKS LIKE THERE IS A CONVERGENCE ZONE ACROSS SE UTAH AND SW COLORADO FOR SHOWERS AND STORMS TO BECOME MORE FOCUSED. HIGHEST POPS TONIGHT WILL BE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT VALLEYS. HIGH CENTER PROGGED TO BECOME RE-CENTERED OVER THE FOUR CORNERS BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON AS A SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY ALONG THE BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST PUSHES SOUTHEAST. A WEAK WAVE CURRENTLY OVER THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY IS PROGGED TO ROTATE AROUND THE HIGH AND INTO NORTHEAST UTAH LATE FRIDAY. THIS SHOULD ENHANCE THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE ACROSS THE NORTH FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE ETA TEMPERATURE GUIDANCE LOOKS MUCH BETTER THAN THE MAV. WILL CONTINUE WITH HOT TEMPERATURES AND LOOK TO EXTEND THE NUMBER OF TRIPLE DIGIT HIGH TEMPERATURE DAYS FOR THE GRAND VALLEY. LINDQUIST FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY... UPPER LEVEL RIDGE AXIS WILL SHIFT BRIEFLY TO THE EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA FRIDAY BEFORE RETURNING BACK OVER THE GREAT BASIN BY MONDAY. A SHIFT IN MID LEVEL/TRANSPORT WIND FLOW WILL OCCUR THROUGH THE PERIOD...FROM THE WEST-SOUTHWEST ON FRIDAY TO THE NORTH-NORTHEAST BY MONDAY. THIS FLOW WILL MOSTLY EFFECT STORM MOTION. NO DRYING IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR...WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER FORECAST BETWEEN 0.80-1.20 ACROSS THE AREA. EMBEDDED DISTURBANCES ROTATING AROUND THE UPPER HIGH WILL CONTINUE TO TRIGGER AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. WIDELY SCATTERED NOCTURNAL CONVECTION POSSIBLE THROUGH THE PERIOD ASSOCIATED WITH STRONGER WAVES AND DEEPER MOISTURE. BKN/OVC CLOUDS MAY DROP TEMPERATURES DOWN A FEW DEGREES DURING THE DAY HOWEVER...VERY LITTLE OVERALL CHANGE IS EXPECTED AS THE HOT UPPER HIGH DOMINATES. DJN.83 TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY...THE FORECAST AREA WILL REMAIN UNDER THE UPPER HIGH WHICH NOW APPEARS WILL MIGRATE SLOWLY SOUTHEAST OF THE AREA IN THE WED TIME FRAME...BUT THERE IS STILL A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHEN THE CIRCULATION WILL START DRAWING MORE MOISTURE NORTH AND INTO THE AREA. BY LATE TUE AND WED...IF THE HIGH CENTER DOES SLIDE SOUTHEAST OF THE CWA THIS COULD OPEN THE DOOR FOR SIGNIFICANT MONSOON MOISTURE RIDING NORTH FROM AZ AND NM. MC/CJC .GJT...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 23, 7:25 AM MST, 6 hours 35 minutes before
COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-241145- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 825 AM MDT WED JUL 23 2003 CORRECTED EXPIRATION TIME THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN COLORADO AND FOR EASTERN UTAH .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO TODAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH LATE THIS EVENING. LIGHT WINDS ALOFT WILL RESULT IN SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS. A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...CAUSING SUDDEN RISES OF DRY CREEKS AND SMALL STREAMS. IN ADDITION...GUSTY WINDS TO NEAR 50 MPH...CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL UP TO 1/4 INCH WILL ACCOMPANY THE STRONGER STORMS. HOT TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO CONTINUE OVER THE LOWER VALLEYS OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO TODAY...WITH AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM 98 TO 108 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE MAIN THREATS FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. HOWEVER... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PHONE IN REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS...HAIL AND HEAVY RAINFALL. NL/TL
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
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Texas, July 23, 2003
- Heat in Oklahoma, July 23, 2003
- Flash Flooding in New York, July 23, 2003
- Wildfire in California, July 23 to 28, 2003
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Texas, July 23, 2003
- Flash Flood in Ohio, July 23, 2003
- Flooding in Ohio, July 23, 2003
- Damaging Wind in California, July 23, 2003
- Flood in Pennsylvania, July 23, 2003
- Damaging Wind in South Carolina, July 23, 2003
- Damaging Wind in Texas, July 23, 2003
- Lightning Strike in Maryland, July 23, 2003
More
Every storm in Colorado in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, 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: 5378799.