Named the Runway Fire, it burned 1,007 acres of brush on the desert slopes of the San Bernardino National Forest near the Cajon Pass. The fire forced the closure of a seven mile stretch of Hwy 138.
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.
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 Runway Fire, it burned 1,007 acres of brush on the desert slopes of the San Bernardino National Forest near the Cajon Pass. The fire forced the closure of a seven mile stretch of Hwy 138. One home in the Baldy Mesa area sustained minor heat damage. The fire was started by a car accident.
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 7, 7:30 AM PST, 5 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 830 AM PDT TUE SEP 7 2004 .SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE HOT WEATHER INLAND TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY. A WEAK MARINE LAYER WILL BRING PATCHY LOW CLOUDS TO THE COAST EACH MORNING. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING INLAND TO THE NORTH WILL BRING A COOLING TREND BY SUNDAY ALONG WITH A SLOWLY INCREASING MARINE LAYER. MOISTURE IN SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CAUSE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAINS DURING THE AFTERNOONS WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. OTHERWISE...FAIR WEATHER WILL CONTINUE. && .DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES. 12Z ETA CONTINUES THE IDEA OF KEEPING THE HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER THE SOUTHWEST THROUGH THE WEEK WITH THE HIGH CENTER PUSHING CLOSER TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ON WEDNESDAY BEFORE RETREATING BACK NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS AREA LATER IN THE WEEK. EXPECT A LITTLE WARMING INLAND AREAS ON WEDNESDAY THEN LITTLE CHANGE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. ETA12 INDICATES INCREASED CAPE OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS BEGINNING WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING INTO THURSDAY AFTERNOON SO THE IDEA OF A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE MOUNTAINS LOOKS GOOD. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS INDICATE SOME LOWERING OF HEIGHTS OVER THE WEEKEND IN RESPONSE TO A TROUGH THAT BEGINS TO MOVE INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST OVER THE WEEKEND. THIS TROUGH DEEPENS THROUGH EARLY PART OF NEXT WEEK WITH HEIGHTS CONTINUING TO LOWER OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. FIRE WEATHER IS CANCELLING THE RED FLAG WARNING. DURATIONS ARE NOT EXTECTED TO EXCEED 10 HOURS. HOWEVER...HOT...DRY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE. .SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && HORTON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 330 AM PDT TUE SEP 7 2004 CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-081300- SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE- SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 330 AM PDT TUE SEP 7 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE... TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT AND WEAK MORNING OFFSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE HOT DRY WEATHER INLAND TODAY. THUS A RED FLAG WARNING CONTINUES TODAY OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY AND THE INLAND EMPIRE FOR SUSTAINED RELATIVE HUMIDITY LESS THAN 10 PERCENT FOR 10 HOURS OR MORE. REFER TO LAXRFWSGX WWUS86 KSGX FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE HOT WEATHER INLAND WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. MOISTURE IN SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CAUSE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAINS DURING THE AFTERNOONS WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. DUE TO THIS WEATHER PATTERN...THE FOLLOWING HAZARDOUS WEATHER EVENTS ARE EXPECTED... POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND BRIEF PERIODS OF RAIN FOR SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS... RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS... WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... AND FOR SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS... THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. POSSIBLE INCREASED FIRE WEATHER HAZARD DUE TO DRY LIGHTNING FOR SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS... RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS... WEDNESDAY. MACKECHNIE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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, September 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: 5422711.