Wildfire in Oregon, July 19 to 31, 2004

Name: Wildfire in Oregon, July 19 to 31, 2004
Start: 2004-07-19T00:00
End: 2004-07-31T23:59
Location: Oregon

July 19 to 31, 2004 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Eagle Cap Complex Fire was a lightning sparked fire that burned 872 acres. The fire was allowed to burn for several days to prevent future large fires from occurring in the same area.

Where it happened

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.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

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 PDT wrote it up.

The Eagle Cap Complex Fire was a lightning sparked fire that burned 872 acres. The fire was allowed to burn for several days to prevent future large fires from occurring in the same area. The fire was not extinguished until after August 22nd.

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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 18, 7:45 PM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 18, 7:45 PM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON
845 PM PDT SUN JUL 18 2004

.DISCUSSION...A LINE OF LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN CAN BE SEEN ON RADAR
IMAGERY OVER THE EASTERN PORTION OF UNION COUNTY AND WESTERN WALLOWA
COUNTY...WITH A FEW EMBEDDED LIGHTNING STRIKES.  SINCE THESE SHOWERS
ARE MOVING OFF TO THE NORTHEAST...THE TREAT FOR FLASH FLOODING HAS
ENDED OVER THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY.  LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN MAY STILL BE
EMBEDDED WITHIN THUNDERSTORMS OVER WALLOWA COUNTY SO LEFT THE FLASH
FLOOD WATCH GOING HERE THROUGH 11 PM.  ELSEWHERE...LIGHTNING
ACTIVITY HAS ENDED EXCEPT FOR A FEW STRIKES NEAR SENECA IN GRANT
COUNTY.  NEW 00Z ETA SHOWS THE BEST MID LEVEL INSTABILITY TONIGHT TO
BE OVER GRANT COUNTY AND NORTHEAST OREGON THIS EVENING...AND THEN
JUST OVER NORTHEAST OREGON AFTER MIDNIGHT.  THUS HAVE KEPT
THUNDERSTORMS IN JUST FOR THESE AREAS.  ANOTHER WAVE OVER SOUTHWEST
OREGON IS CURRENTLY KICKING OFF A FEW SHOWERS.  THIS WAVE WILL MOVE
NORTHEAST OVERNIGHT...RESULTING IN A CONTINATION OF ISOLATED SHOWERS
OVER ZONES CLOSE TO THE CASCADES.  FORECAST HAS BEEN UPDATED TO
REFLECT THESE TRENDS.  WOLF

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PENDLETON (AIRPORT) 067 087 059 082 / 020 020 005 005
WALLA WALLA         068 090 061 085 / 020 020 005 005
TRI-CITIES          068 092 057 087 / 020 010 005 005
YAKIMA              067 088 056 084 / 020 010 005 005
HERMISTON           067 091 057 086 / 020 010 005 005
ELLENSBURG          065 082 056 078 / 020 010 010 010
REDMOND             058 084 047 084 / 020 010 010 010
LA GRANDE           065 089 053 083 / 050 020 010 010
JOHN DAY            059 089 054 083 / 020 020 010 010
THE DALLES          070 086 061 083 / 020 010 005 005
&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH 11 PM THIS EVENING FOR WALLOWA COUNTY.
WA...NONE.
&&

86

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 18, 9:50 PM PST, 2 hours 10 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON
1050 PM PDT SUN JUL 18 2004

ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-191200-
NORTH CENTRAL OREGON-CENTRAL OREGON-LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (OR)-
FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (OR)-BLUE MOUNTAINS-JOHN DAY BASIN-
OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS-GRANDE RONDE VALLEY-WALLOWA COUNTY-
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE (WA)-
EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES-KITTITAS VALLEY-YAKIMA VALLEY-
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (WA)-FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (WA)-
NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS-
1050 PM PDT SUN JUL 18 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS
     NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS, BLUE MOUNTAINS, JOHN DAY BASIN,
     OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS, GRANDE RONDE VALLEY, WALLOWA COUNTY

A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD MONSOONAL
MOISTURE OVER THE REGION THROUGH TONIGHT.  THE SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM
ACTIVITY WILL BE BEST FOCUSED OVER THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS OF OREGON
AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY
          NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS, BLUE MOUNTAINS, OCHOCO-JOHN DAY
          HIGHLANDS, WALLOWA COUNTY

AN UPPER-LEVEL COLD FRONT WILL PUSH ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE DAY
MONDAY.  STABLE MARINE AIR IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN WILL LIMIT
CONVECTION THERE...HOWEVER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE
POSSIBLE OVER THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS AS WELL AS THE FOOTHILLS OF THE
BLUE MOUNTAINS IN THE AFTERNOON.  SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS
WILL LINGER INTO MONDAY EVENING OVER THE BLUE MOUNTAINS.  STORMS
WILL ONCE AGAIN FEATURE LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS...AND BRIEF HEAVY
RAIN.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY AND MONDAY.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

PROTOTYPE GRAPHICAL FORECASTS OF WEATHER HAZARDS OUT TO SEVEN DAYS
ARE DISPLAYED ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT:

WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/PENDLETON/FORECAST/HWOGRAPHICS/HWOGRAPHICS.PHP

ALL LETTERS IN THE ABOVE URL ARE LOWER CASE...EXCEPT THE G IN
HWOGRAPHICS AND THE G IN HWOGRAPHICS.PHP.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Wallowa County

When: July 19, 12:00 AM PST to July 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Wallowa County forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 45.445, -117.595 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 Oregon in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, 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: 5414419.