Named the Melton Fire, this fire consumed 3667 acres, 14 vehicles, 4 mobile homes, 1 travel trailor, 1 motor-home, and 14 outbuildings near the city of Hemet. Fire fighting costs were $1,140,114.
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 SGX wrote it up.
Named the Melton Fire, this fire consumed 3667 acres, 14 vehicles, 4 mobile homes, 1 travel trailor, 1 motor-home, and 14 outbuildings near the city of Hemet. Fire fighting costs were $1,140,114.
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 Jul 17, 1:30 PM PST, 17 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO 230 PM PDT SAT JUL 17 2004 .SYNOPSIS...DECREASING MOISTURE IN SOUTH FLOW ALOFT WILL CAUSE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAINS DURING THE AFTERNOONS TODAY AND SUNDAY. A REDEVELOPING MARINE LAYER WILL RESULT IN AREAS OF COASTAL LOW CLOUDS AND FOG IN THE NIGHTS AND MORNINGS. OTHERWISE... STRONG HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL KEEP THE WEATHER FAIR WITH HOT DAYS INLAND THROUGH NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES. .SHORT TERM...THERE WERE PATCHES OF LOW CLOUDS AND FOG IN THE COASTAL AREAS THIS AM AND AN AREA OF STRATUS REMAINS FAR OFFSHORE. THERE WERE ALSO A FEW MID AND HI CLOUDS. SOME CU DEVELOPED OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON. THE 12Z NKX SOUNDING HAD AN INVERSION BASED BELOW 1000 FT AND SHOWED THE MID LEVEL MOISTURE. ONSHORE GRADIENTS WITH ABOUT 5 MB SAN-IPL. MID LEVEL MOISTURE IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO DECREASE...BUT THERE WILL STILL BE ENOUGH MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY FOR A SMALL CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND SUN AFTERNOON. THE UPPER HI OVER THE SW REMAINS STRONG BUT LOCAL HEIGHTS DECREASE A LITTLE TUE AS A WEAKENING TROUGH MOVES PAST TO THE N. HOT WEATHER WILL CONTINUE INLAND AND THE MARINE LAYER WILL REMAIN FAIRLY SHALLOW. HOWEVER...THE MARINE LAYER WILL SLOWLY BECOME BETTER ESTABLISHED AND DEEPEN A LITTLE BY TUE MORNING. ONSHORE FLOW TO THERMAL LOW PRESSURE IN THE DESERTS WILL CAUSE THE USUAL AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES. THERE SHOULD BE A LITTLE COOLING NEAR THE COAST DUE TO THE STRONGER SEA BREEZE AND MORE MARINE INFLUENCE. .LONG TERM...MINOR CHANGES WED AND THU. THE UPPER HI STARTS TO BUILD OVER THE SW TOWARD THE END OF NEXT WEEK FOR A LITTLE WARMING. MONSOONAL MOISTURE MAY INCREASE TOWARD THE END OF NEXT WEEK. IT DOES NOT CURRENTLY LOOK LIKE ENOUGH FOR THUNDERSTORMS BUT WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED. .SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && ATKIN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 100 PM PDT SAT JUL 17 2004 CAZ055-056-058-181300- SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 100 PM PDT SAT JUL 17 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT DECREASING MOISTURE IN SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CAUSE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON. IF ANY THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP THEN THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS SUNDAY AFTERNOON. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. ATKIN
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 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: 5411327.