Wildfire in Washington, September 1 to 30, 2006

Name: Wildfire in Washington, September 1 to 30, 2006
Start: 2006-09-01T00:00
End: 2006-09-30T18:00
Location: Washington

September 1 to 30, 2006 · NWS OTX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Tatoosh Complex Fire, centered 24 miles NNW of Mazama, was started by lightning on August 22nd and burned 51,671 acres.

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 OTX wrote it up.

The Tatoosh Complex Fire, centered 24 miles NNW of Mazama, was started by lightning on August 22nd and burned 51,671 acres.

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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 31, 9:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 9:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
1030 PM PDT THU AUG 31 2006

.SYNOPSIS...
AFTER ONE MORE CHILLY NIGHT...A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD
OVER THE INLAND NORTHWEST....THROUGH THE DAY FRIDAY AND INTO THE
WEEKEND. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR A RETURN TO ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES
AND GENERALLY DRY CONDITIONS FOR THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
SATELLITE INDICATES REGION HAS NOW ENTERED A PERIOD OF RIDGING.
LATEST MODEL RUNS ARE SIMILAR AND COMPLETELY PLAUSIBLE VERSUS
SATELLITE EXTRAPOLATION. A STRONG SURFACE HIGH WILL BUILD OVER
NORTHWEST MONTANA AND WRAP THROUGH SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
THROUGH THE NIGHT. THIS WILL LIKELY PROVIDE SOME NORTH TO NORTHEAST
DRIFT WINDS THROUGH THE OKANOGAN VALLEY AND PURCELL TRENCH. THESE
WINDS WILL LIKELY KEEP BOUNDARY LAYER STIRRED UP ENOUGH TO PREVENT
UNUSUALLY LOW MORNING MINIMUMS. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE REGION
MORNING LOW TEMPERATURES WILL BE THE MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM. TWENTY
FOUR HOUR TRENDS INDICATE CURRENT TEMPS A BIT HIGHER THAN SAME TIME
LAST NIGHT...BUT DEW POINTS DRAMATICALLY LOWER. THIS DRY AIR ARGUES
FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR MORNING MINIMUMS NEAR OF SLIGHTLY BELOW
THIS MORNINGS MINIMUMS DUE TO RADIATIONAL COOLING IN WIND PROTECTED
LOCATIONS. IT WILL BE ANOTHER CHILLY MORNING WITH SOME ISOLATED
FREEZING TEMPERATURES IN OUTLYING RURAL AREAS...BUT NOT WIDESPREAD
ENOUGH...AND TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY NOT HOLD BELOW FREEZING LONG
ENOUGH TO DAMAGE CROPS...THUS NO FREEZE WARNINGS ARE WARRANTED.
MINOR UPDATE TO ZONE FORECAST EXPECTED SHORTLY TO REMOVE EVENING
SHOWERS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND TWEAK EXPECTED LOW TEMPERATURE
FORECAST. MINOR UPDATE TO STATE FORECAST FOR SAME REASON. /FUGAZZI

&&

.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED ACROSS ALL TAF SITES THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY.
 AREAS OF FU WILL LINGER IN VCNTY OF THE BLUE MTS...AS WELL AS NEAR
THE KOMK AREA...AND MAY PRODUCE LOCAL MVFR VIS.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SPOKANE        37  79  49  89  53  93 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
COEUR DALENE  40  79  45  89  47  93 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
PULLMAN        35  80  44  89  46  93 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
LEWISTON       44  85  52  95  56 100 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
COLVILLE       39  79  41  91  42  95 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
SANDPOINT      43  78  41  88  43  91 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
KELLOGG        39  78  47  90  47  94 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
MOSES LAKE     40  84  47  92  51  95 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
WENATCHEE      47  82  55  91  59  94 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
OMAK           40  84  47  91  51  97 /   0   0   0   0   0  10

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...NONE.
WA...NONE.
&&

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, W Okanogan/C&w Chelan

When: September 1, 12:00 AM PST to September 30, 6:00 PM PST
Where: W Okanogan/C&w Chelan forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

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 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, September 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: 5535018.