Lightning started the Willow Fire about 18 miles southwest of Payson on June 24th. The fire was located in the Mazatzal Wilderness south of the Mogollon Rim.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 FGZ wrote it up.
Lightning started the Willow Fire about 18 miles southwest of Payson on June 24th. The fire was located in the Mazatzal Wilderness south of the Mogollon Rim. The fire moved into Gila county by 1800 on June 26th. One of the main concerns was that the fire would cross East Verde River and make a run towards the communities of Pine, Strawberry, and Payson. Fire fighting resources included: 8 Type 1 Crews, 4 Type 2 Crews, 4 Type 1 Helicopters, 2 Type 2 Helicopters, 1 Type 3 Helicopter, 6 Dozers, 38 Engines, and 19 Water tenders. Firefighting cost were $8,375,000 by July 10th...not including the value of burned assets. The fire burned 40,800 acres by the end of June. The total size was 119,950 ac by the time the fire was contained on July 16th.
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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 24, 3:35 PM MST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 335 PM MST THU JUN 24 2004 .SYNOPSIS...A WEAK RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE SOUTHWEST THROUGH FRIDAY ALLOWING MOISTURE TO LINGER IN THE AREA. THIS WILL LEAD TO A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS IN MOST AREAS THROUGH FRIDAY. ON SATURDAY...SHOWERS WILL BE CONFINED TO AREAS NEAR THE UTAH AND NEW MEXICO BORDERS AS A DRIER SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT RETURNS TO THE STATE. SUNDAY AND INTO NEXT WEEK WILL BE DRY WITH SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES IN MOST AREAS WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS REMAINING NEAR THE NEW MEXICO BORDER. && .DISCUSSION...HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER ARIZONA TODAY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SLOWLY EAST WITH 500 HPA AXIS SETTING UP ALONG NM BORDER BY SUNDAY. STEERING FLOW WITH CURRENT RIDGE ORIENTATION KEEPING STORM MOVEMENT GENERALLY SOUTH TO SOUTHWESTERLY SO GILA/YAVAPAI COUNTY NOW GETTING MOST OF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY THIS AFTERNOON AS STORMS MOVE OFF THE RIM. GUSTY OUTFLOWS AND BLOWING DUST FROM THESE STORMS ARE A CONCERN...ESPECIALLY IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS WITH A DEEPER DRY BOUNDARY LAYER AND GREATER ACCELERATION POTENTIAL. TREND THROUGH THE WEEKEND WILL BE FOR RIDGE TO DRIFT EASTWARD...CENTERING OVER NM BORDER BY SUNDAY. THIS WILL TEND TO INCREASE AREAL COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IN NORTHERN AZ TODAY AND FRIDAY...THEN MOVE DRIER AIR INTO WESTERN PARTS OF THE CWA OVER THE WEEKEND AS A DRY SW FLOW PUSHES INTO THE AREA. FOR NOW...YAVAPAI COUNTY ZONES ARE DRY FOR FRIDAY ESTIMATING THAT SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL DRY OUT THIS REGION FOR TOMORROW...BUT LATER SHIFTS WILL NEED TO KEEP A CAREFUL EYE ON WHERE MOIST OUTFLOWS FROM TODAYS CONVECTION END UP THIS EVENING/OVERNIGHT. .EXTENDED...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO LINGER OVER NEW MEXICO THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK AFTER GREAT PLAINS COLD FRONT PUSHES BACK THROUGH THE NEW MEXICO SO HAVE KEPT POPS ALONG THE NM BORDER EACH AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY. AFTER THAT TROUGHING ALONG WEST COAST SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO PUSH MOISTURE COMPLETELY OUT OF AZ. EXPECT BREEZY AFTERNOONS TO BEGIN AGAIN ON SUNDAY IN THE WESTERN HALF OF THE STATE AND EXTEND THROUGH ENTIRE CWA FOR MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. ONTON && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, June 2004
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: 5414698, 5414751.