Name: Wildfire in California, September 3, 2004
Start: 2004-09-03T10:24
End: 2004-09-03T13:00
Location: California

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.

Named the Ruby Fire, this fire consumed 1 acre near the Redhawk Golf Course in Temecula.

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, 8:30 AM PST, 1 hour 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 8:30 AM PST, 1 hour 54 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO
930 AM PDT FRI SEP 3 2004

.SYNOPSIS...UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE PAST TO THE NORTH
TODAY. THIS WILL BRING GUSTY WINDS TO THE MOUNTAINS AND
DESERTS...COOLING...AND A DEEPER MARINE LAYER. BUILDING HIGH
PRESSURE WILL CAUSE WARMING FOR THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.
MOISTURE IN SOUTHEAST FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS TO THE MOUNTAINS SUNDAY AND MONDAY. COOLER AGAIN TOWARD
THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK UNDER WEAK UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE.

&&

.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES.

.SHORT TERM...THERE WAS A STRONG EDDY THIS MORNING WITH LOW CLOUDS AND
PATCHY FOG INTO MOST COASTAL AND INLAND VALLEYS. THE 12Z NKX SOUNDING
HAD AN INVERSION BASED NEAR 2800 FT...UP ABOUT 1800 FT FROM 24 HOURS
PREVIOUS. ONSHORE GRADIENTS AND TRENDS WITH ABOUT 5 MB SAN-IPL.

AN UPPER TROUGH PASSING THROUGH WILL CAUSE LOCAL GUSTY WINDS IN THE
MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS INTO THIS EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER
THE SW THROUGH THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND. LOCAL THICKNESS AND 850 MB TEMPS
DO NOT INCREASE MUCH SAT BUT THERE SHOULD BE WARMING W OF THE
MOUNTAINS DUE TO WEAKER ONSHORE GRADIENTS. MORE WARMING IN ALL AREAS
SUN AND MON. THE MARINE LAYER WILL SHRINK JUST A LITTLE SAT AND THEN
MORE SO SUN AND MON. CURRENT PROGS KEEP MOST OF THE MOISTURE FROM
HURRICANE HOWARD S OUR CWFA. HOWEVER...SOME MOISTURE COULD GET
ENTRAINED IN THE FLOW AROUND THE UPPER HI FOR A SMALL CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS SUN AND MON.

.LONG TERM...AN UPPER TROUGH MOVES PAST TO THE N TUE AND WED FOR
COOLING AND A DEEPENING MARINE LAYER. AND UPPER HI BUILDS AGAIN TOWARD
THE END OF NEXT WEEK FOR WARMING AND A DECREASING MARINE LAYER.

.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

ATKIN

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 2, 8:55 PM PST, 13 hours 29 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
955 PM PDT THU SEP 2 2004

CAZ048-050-055-056-058-060-061-062-031300-
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS-
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
APPLE AND YUCCA VALLEYS-
COACHELLA VALLEY-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS-
955 PM PDT THU SEP 2 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA.

.DAY ONE... THROUGH TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

JAD

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, W Riverside T X Nw

When: September 3, 10:24 AM PST to 1:00 PM PST
Where: W Riverside T X Nw 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

More

Every storm in California in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in California, September 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: 5423855.