Wildfire, Northwestern San Juan Mountains
- When
- July 1, 12:00 PM MST to July 8, 12:00 PM MST
- Where
- Northwestern San Juan Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- GOVT OFFICIAL
- Coordinates
- 38.210, -107.755 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Colorado, July 1 to 8, 2006
This incident was named the Red Creek Fire and occurred about 8 miles northeast of Ridgway in eastern Ouray County. The fire consumed 350 acres of timber and resulted in the closure of trails in a wilderness 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
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 GJT wrote it up.
This incident was named the Red Creek Fire and occurred about 8 miles northeast of Ridgway in eastern Ouray County. The fire consumed 350 acres of timber and resulted in the closure of trails in a wilderness area. Smoke from the fire impacted communities to the north, including the town of Montrose.
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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 1, 2:10 AM MST, 9 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 1, 2:10 AM MST, 9 hours 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 310 AM MDT SAT JUL 1 2006 .SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT)... THOUGH FLATTER AND ORIENTED EAST-WEST ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT CONTINUED TO DICTATE CONDITIONS ACROSS THE CWFA EARLY THIS MORNING. SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATED CIRCULATION CENTER IN THE VICINITY OF THE FOUR CORNERS WHICH HAS ALLOWED DEEPER MOISTURE ORIGINATING OVER THE MEXICAN PLATEAU TO MOVE INTO THE AREA. EVENING KGJT SOUNDING CARRIED 0.79 INCHES PW WHICH WAS WITHIN THE BALL PARK OF KFGZ AND KSLC. WEAK SHORTWAVE ENERGY ROTATING NORTHWARD AROUND THE HIGH WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME LINGERING SHOWERS AND A FEW TSTMS ALONG THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE CWFA. EXPECT MORNING SHOWERS TO LINGER THROUGH DAYLIGHT...SO BOOSTED POPS ALONG THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE CWFA THIS MORNING. OTHERWISE...EXPECT MAINLY DIURNAL WARMING COMBINED WITH INCREASED MOISTURE TO DRIVE AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND SUNDAY. STEERING WINDS LIGHT...AS POINTED OUT IN PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...SO DO NOT EXPECT ORGANIZED LONG-LIVED THUNDERSTORMS THIS WEEKEND. HOWEVER...DUE TO INCREASED MOISTURE DEPTH...CONVECTION WILL BE MORE WIDESPREAD AND BETTER ABLE TO PRODUCE MEASURABLE RAINFALL. SIMILAR DECLINE IN SHOWERS AND TSTMS DURING THE NIGHT...THOUGH CANNOT RULE OUT A FEW NOCTURNAL STORMS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. LITTLE CHANGE IN WEATHER PATTERN INDICATED FOR SUNDAY/SUNDAY NIGHT SO EXPECT MORE OF THE SAME. NEAR PERSISTENCE TEMPERATURE FORECAST SEEMS REASONABLE...SO MADE ONLY SPARING CHANGES TO CONTINUED ABOVE NORMAL FORECAST. .LONG-TERM (MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY)...HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN IN CONTROL THROUGH THE PERIOD. EARLY IN THE WEEK...THE HIGH SHIFTS A LITTLE TO THE WEST. THEN BY MIDWEEK IT MOVES TO THE EAST WHICH ALLOWS A MORE DIRECT FEED FOR SOUTHERLY MOISTURE. EVEN WHILE THE HIGH CIRCULATION CENTER IS TO OUR WEST...ENOUGH MOISTURE WILL REMAIN TRAPPED UNDER THE HIGH FOR DIURNAL THUNDERSTORMS EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THEN BY THU AS THE HIGH SHIFTS EAST...POPS WILL INCREASE A NOTCH OR TWO. HIGH TEMPS START OUT A LITTLE ABOVE NORMAL...THEN DROP TO NORMAL BY THU. LOWS WILL REMAIN CLOSER NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .CO...NONE. .UT...NONE. && NL/EH
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 1, 4:45 AM MST, 7 hours 15 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 545 AM MDT SAT JUL 1 2006 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-021145- ANIMAS RIVER BASIN-ARCHES/GRAND FLAT-CANYONLANDS/NATURAL BRIDGES- CENTRAL COLORADO RIVER BASIN- CENTRAL GUNNISON AND UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER BASIN- CENTRAL YAMPA RIVER BASIN-DEBEQUE TO SILT CORRIDOR- EASTERN UINTA BASIN-EASTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS- ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS-FLAT TOPS- FOUR CORNERS/UPPER DOLORES RIVER- GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAINS-GRAND AND BATTLEMENT MESAS- GRAND VALLEY-LA SAL AND ABAJO MOUNTAINS-LOWER YAMPA RIVER BASIN- NORTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-PARADOX VALLEY/LOWER DOLORES RIVER- ROAN AND TAVAPUTS PLATEAUS-SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN-SOUTHEAST UTAH- SOUTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-TAVAPUTS PLATEAU- UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU AND DALLAS DIVIDE-UPPER GUNNISON RIVER VALLEY- UPPER YAMPA RIVER BASIN-WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS- 545 AM MDT SAT JUL 1 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT EXPECT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER MUCH OF WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...MAINLY OVER HIGHER TERRAIN. THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINFALL... STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING...ESPECIALLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND STRONG GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH STORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT. NL
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Drought in Texas, July 1 to 31, 2006
- Drought in Texas, July 1 to 31, 2006
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, July 1, 2006
- Drought in Oklahoma, July 1 to 31, 2006
- Hail in Nebraska, July 1, 2006
- Hail and Strong Wind in Texas, July 1, 2006
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 1, 2006
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 1, 2006
- Tropical Storm in Guam, July 1, 2006
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 1, 2006
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 1, 2006
- Drought in New Mexico, July 1 to 31, 2006
More
Every storm in Colorado in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, July 2006
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: 5524314.