Wildfire in Oregon, September 3 to 4, 2004

Name: Wildfire in Oregon, September 3 to 4, 2004
Start: 2004-09-03T13:15
End: 2004-09-04T05:00
Location: Oregon

September 3 to 4, 2004 · NWS MFR · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A Red Flag Warning was issued for Oregon fire weather zones 618/691/620 for expected strong winds and poor recoveries, effective at the above listed time interval. The winds did blow, but recoveries were much better than expected, so the warning did not verify.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 4

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 MFR wrote it up.

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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 3, 12:00 PM PST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 12:00 PM PST, 1 hour 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
100 PM PDT FRI SEP 3 2004

.DISCUSSION...12Z NGM/ETA/GFS IN.

CLOUDS ARE NOW DISSIPATING OVER THE MEDFORD CWA AS THE UPPER TROUGH
DEPARTS AND STRONG RIDGING BUILDS OVER THE AREA.

FLOW ALOFT WILL SHIFT FROM NORTHERLY ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE TROUGH
TO NORTHWESTERLY SATURDAY...FLATTENING OUT TO ZONAL FLOW SUNDAY.  A
SHORT WAVE WILL MOVE ONSHORE WELL TO THE NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA
SATURDAY...BUT THE RIDGE WILL HANG TOUGH OVER THE MEDFORD CWA.

AT LOW LEVELS...THE THERMAL TROUGH WILL STRENGTHEN ALONG THE COAST...
AND OFFSHORE FLOW WILL RETURN DURING THE NIGHTTIME HOURS...BUT IT
DOESNT LOOK LIKE IT WILL BE A STRONG EVENT.  EXPECT MOSTLY CLEAR
SKIES AND NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO PREVAIL
THROUGH THE WEEKEND.  THE EXCEPTION WILL BE ALONG THE COAST NORTH OF
CAPE BLANCO AND ADJACENT COASTAL VALLEYS...WHERE SOME OVERNIGHT LOW
CLOUDS AND FOG WILL DEVELOP...AND ALONG THE SOUTH COAST...WHERE
TEMPERATURES WILL BE A LOT WARMER THAN NORMAL.

THE 00Z GFS SAYS A FAIRLY STRONG UPPER TROUGH WILL DIG INTO THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BEGINNING MONDAY...AND THIS WILL BRING COOLER
TEMPERATURES TO THE AREA MONDAY AND TUESDAY.  THIS IS QUITE A
DEPARTURE FROM THE PREVIOUS RUN...WHICH HAD A WEAK RIDGE OVER THE
AREA AT THAT TIME.  THE 12Z GFS RUN TEMPERS THIS TREND A BIT WITH A
WEAKER TROUGH.  THE MEX GUIDANCE BLENDS THE STRONG TROUGH SOLUTION
WITH CLIMATOLOGY AND THE RESULT IS A GOOD COMPROMISE...SO WILL GO
WITH THOSE NUMBERS FOR NOW.  THE END OF THE WEEK STILL LOOKS DRY
WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES.

&&

.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...CAPE BLANCO OR TO OR/CA BORDER.
CA...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...OR/CA BORDER TO PT. ST GEORGE CA.

&&

STOCKTON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Curry County Coast

When: September 3, 1:15 PM PST to September 4, 5:00 AM PST
Where: Curry County Coast forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.467, -124.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, Eastern Curry County & Josephine County

When: September 3, 1:15 PM PST to September 4, 5:00 AM PST
Where: Eastern Curry County & Josephine County forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.417, -123.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, Jackson County

When: September 3, 1:15 PM PST to September 4, 5:00 AM PST
Where: Jackson County forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.432, -122.728 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, South Central Oregon Coast

When: September 3, 1:15 PM PST to September 4, 5:00 AM PST
Where: South Central Oregon Coast forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.979, -123.829 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

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, 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: 5420123, 5420124, 5420125, 5420126.