Wildfire in Washington, August 5 to 19, 2005

Name: Wildfire in Washington, August 5 to 19, 2005
Start: 2005-08-05T00:00
End: 2005-08-19T23:59
Location: Washington

August 5 to 19, 2005 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The School Fire, centered 14 miles east of Dayton, burned 49,515 acres. The fire burned across portions of both Columbia (NW Blue Mountains) and Garfield (NE Blue Mountains) Counties.

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

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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 School Fire, centered 14 miles east of Dayton, burned 49,515 acres. The fire burned across portions of both Columbia (NW Blue Mountains) and Garfield (NE Blue Mountains) Counties. 106 Out-buildings and 109 homes were destroyed in the blaze, with no structures lost in Columbia County.

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 Aug 4, 9:50 PM PST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 9:50 PM PST, 2 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1050 PM PDT THU AUG 4 2005

UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION

.DISCUSSION...OTHER THAN A FEW HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS...MOSTLY CLEAR
SKIES WILL PERSIST TONIGHT. ANOTHER VERY WARM TO HOT DAY IS EXPECTED
TOMORROW WITH A HEAT ADVISORY REMAINING IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF
THE AREA. NO CHANGES PLANNED AT THIS TIME AND THE PRESENT FORECAST
APPEARS ON TRACK.

&&

.AVIATION...OTHER THAN SOME HIGH LEVEL CLOUDINESS UNTIL 12Z...VFR
CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. CURRENT TAFS AND
TWEBS REFLECT THE FORECAST.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT  61 100  63  98 /   0   0   0   0
ALW  69  99  68  98 /   0   0   0   0
PSC  54  99  56  99 /   0   0   0   0
YKM  55  97  57  96 /   0   0   0   0
HRI  57 101  59  99 /   0   0   0   0
ELN  54  94  55  93 /   0   0   0   0
RDM  48  98  51  97 /   0   0   0   0
LGD  52  98  55  97 /   0   0   0   0
5J0  57  97  59  96 /   0   0   0  10
DLS  63  98  62  94 /   0   0   0   0

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM FRIDAY FOR ORZ041-ORZ042-ORZ044-ORZ045.

WA...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM FRIDAY FOR WAZ024-WAZ027-WAZ028-WAZ029.

&&

TI:GGG
FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON
97/97

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 4, 5:15 AM PST, 18 hours 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
615 AM PDT THU AUG 4 2005

WAZ024>030-ORZ041>050-051215-
EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES-KITTITAS VALLEY-
YAKIMA VALLEY-LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF WASHINGTON-
FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON-
NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS-EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF OREGON-
NORTH CENTRAL OREGON-CENTRAL OREGON-
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF OREGON-
FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-BLUE MOUNTAINS-
JOHN DAY BASIN-OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS-GRANDE RONDE VALLEY-
WALLOWA COUNTY-
615 AM PDT THU AUG 4 2005

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

EXCESSIVE HEAT TODAY
     EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF WASHINGTON, YAKIMA VALLEY,
     LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF WASHINGTON, FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE
     MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON, EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF
     OREGON, NORTH CENTRAL OREGON, LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF OREGON,
     FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON

AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL BE PARKED OVER THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS WEEK FOR VERY WARM AND DRY
CONDITIONS. SUBSIDENCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE HIGH PRESSURE WILL
PRODUCE STRONG DRYING AND HEATING IN THE LOWER AND MIDDLE LEVELS OF
THE ATMOSPHERE. THIS WILL LEAD TO SURFACE TEMPERATURES CLIMBING
TO THE UPPER 90S TO 108 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON AND AGAIN FRIDAY
AFTERNOON IN THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN AND ADJACENT VALLEYS BELOW
2000 FEET AND IN THE EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE. A HEAT ADVISORY
REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM PDT FRIDAY FOR
THE AREAS LISTED ABOVE UNDER EXCESSIVE HEAT TODAY. FOR DETAILS...
REFER TO PRODUCT PDXNPWPDT (WMO HEADER WWUS76 KPDT).

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

EXCESSIVE HEAT FRIDAY
     EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF WASHINGTON, YAKIMA VALLEY,
     LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF WASHINGTON, FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE
     MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON, EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF
     OREGON, NORTH CENTRAL OREGON, LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF OREGON,
     FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON

THE UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL PERSIST OVER THE REGION ON
FRIDAY FOR ANOTHER DAY OF VERY WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS. AS SUCH THE
AFOREMENTIONED HEAT ADVISORY WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT ON FRIDAY UNTIL
8 PM PDT FOR THE AREAS LISTED ABOVE UNDER EXCESSIVE HEAT FRIDAY.

DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL DROP SLIGHTLY SATURDAY...WITH MORE
COOLING SUNDAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL PACIFIC TROUGH APPROACHES THE AREA.

A MODEST INCREASE IN MID LEVEL MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL GIVE A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAINS OF
NORTHEAST OREGON SATURDAY...SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. OTHERWISE...
HIGH PRESSURE WILL KEEP WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS IN PLACE FROM
SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

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:

WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON

AND SELECT GRAPHICAL HAZARDS.

POLAN

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, Northwest Blue Mountains

When: August 5, 12:00 AM PST to August 19, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Northwest Blue Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 46.264, -118.193 (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 Washington in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, August 2005

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: 5472440.