Wildfire in California, July 12 to 21, 2004

Name: Wildfire in California, July 12 to 21, 2004
Start: 2004-07-12T12:50
End: 2004-07-21T18:00
Location: California

July 12 to 21, 2004 · NWS LOX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The Pine Fire burned 17,418 acres of land in the Angeles National Forest on the north side of Liebre Mountain. The cause of the fire was ruled to be arson.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 LOX wrote it up.

The Pine Fire burned 17,418 acres of land in the Angeles National Forest on the north side of Liebre Mountain. The cause of the fire was ruled to be arson. The estimated cost of fighting the fire was 14 million dollars.

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 Los Angeles, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 12, 2:30 AM PST, 10 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 12, 2:30 AM PST, 10 hours 20 minutes before

SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
330 AM PDT MON JUL 12 2004

.SHORT TERM...
BAKING HOT TEMPS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY WITH 580 THICKNESS
AND WEAK ONSHORE E/W FLOW AND WEAK OFFSHORE N/S FLOW. ENOUGH OF A SMX
TO SBA PUSH TO ALLOW FOR A WEAK EVENING SUNDOWNER TONIGHT AND TUESDAY
NIGHT.

.LONG TERM...
FOUR CORNER HIGH CONTINUES THROUGH THE WEEK AND THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY
THE DOOR TO MONSOON FLOW OPENS SOMEWHAT...ALTHOUGH BEST RHS SEEM TO
BE TO THE SOUTH RIGHT NOW. FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY A PAC NW TROF
MOVES OVERHEAD AND WILL GIN UP MARINE LAYER AS WELL AS SHUT OFF
MONSSON CHANCES.

&&

.LOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY (SEE LAXCWFLOX).

&&

ASR

Event by event

2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, N Los Angeles T X N

When: July 12, 12:50 PM PST to July 21, 6:00 PM PST
Where: N Los Angeles T X N forecast zone
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD

Wildfire, X N Los Angeles

When: July 12, 12:50 PM PST to July 21, 6:00 PM PST
Where: X N Los Angeles forecast zone
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD

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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in California, July 2004

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: 5411433, 5411434.