The Butler 2 Fire started very near where the Butler Fire had been burning earlier in the month. Over the course of several days, the Butler 2 Fire burned 14,039 acres as it spread northward from near Highway 18 toward the border of the San Bernardino National Forest.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.
The Butler 2 Fire started very near where the Butler Fire had been burning earlier in the month. Over the course of several days, the Butler 2 Fire burned 14,039 acres as it spread northward from near Highway 18 toward the border of the San Bernardino National Forest. Flames came within 1/4 mile of Fawnskin, prompting a mandatory evacuation. A state of emergency was declared by Gov. Schwarzenegger for San Bernardino County because of the threat the fire posed to 6,000 homes and 150 businesses in the Big Bear area. Several campgrounds were burned, including Camp Whittle, Crafts Peak, Gray's Peak, Lower Larga Flats, Ironwood Group Campground near Cienega Larga, and Hancock Springs. There were 3 outbuildings destroyed in Camp Whittle and four firefighters sustained minor injuries.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 14, 8:00 AM PST, 4 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 900 AM PDT FRI SEP 14 2007 .SYNOPSIS... A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WILL BRING GRADUAL COOLING AND A DEEPER MARINE LAYER THROUGH MONDAY. GUSTY WINDS WILL AFFECT THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS AT TIMES. A STRONGER TROUGH IS FORECAST TO BRING GUSTY WINDS AND EVEN MORE COOLING FOR THE LATTER HALF OF NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES... A PATTERN CHANGE TOWARDS A COOLER AIRMASS CONTINUES AS A MEAN UPPER TROUGH TRIES TO DEVELOP OVER THE WEST. A CLOSED UPPER LOW WAS CENTERED NEAR CRESCENT CITY THIS MORNING AND FORECAST TO REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY THRU SATURDAY WITH A WEAK TROUGH OVER SOCAL. THE TROUGH DROPS TEMPS EVERYWHERE TODAY...AND THEN JUST SLIGHTLY COOLER FOR SAT. THIS PATTERN BRINGING WSW FLOW ALOFT WILL PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. 12Z NKX SOUNDING SHOWED SW WINDS 20-25 KT ABOVE 7000 FT. NEAR THE COAST THE MARINE LAYER DEEPENED A BIT AND COMBINED WITH A WEAK EDDY TO BRING AN INCREASE IN STRATUS EARLY THIS MORN INTO SAN DIEGO COUNTY AND SRN ORANGE CO. LOW CLOUDS WERE THIN AND RAPIDLY BREAKING UP AT 9 AM. SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS WERE ONSHORE WITH SAN-IPL NEAR 5-6 MB. EXPECT THE MARINE LAYER TO INCREASE A LITTLE FURTHER INTO SATURDAY WITH COASTAL STRATUS REFORMING TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING. MORE SIGNIFICANT DEEPENING OF THE MARINE LAYER SHOULD OCCUR SUNDAY AFTN/EVE AS AN UPPER WAVE KICKS THE TROUGH AXIS SE OVER THE REGION. THIS FEATURE WILL LIKELY INCREASE THE WINDS FOR GUSTY CONDITIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS SUNDAY AFTN AND SUN NIGHT. PASSAGE OF THE TROUGH AXIS MAY BE STRONG ENOUGH FOR DRIZZLE TO FORM IN THE STEADILY INCREASING MARINE LAYER. LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD...A HIGH AMPLITUDE WAVE EXTENDING FROM CANADA TO MEXICO IS FORECAST OVER THE WEST COAST NEXT THU AND FRI. THIS MAY CAUSE SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES LATE NEXT WEEK ALONG WITH AN OUTSIDE CHANCE AT SOME LIGHT PRECIP. && .AVIATION... 141500Z...THE 12Z NKX SOUNDING AND MDCRS SOUNDINGS INDICATE THE MARINE LAYER HAD DEEPENED TO AROUND 1200 FEET OVERNIGHT. A WEAK COASTAL EDDY DEVELOPED OVERNIGHT HELPING TO DEEPEN THE EDDY. AREAS OF STRATUS WITH BASES AROUND 1000 FEET MSL THAT COVER THE COASTAL AREAS FROM SOUTHERN ORANGE COUNTY TO THE BORDER WITH MEXICO SHOULD BREAK UP BETWEEN 16Z AND 17Z. STRATUS SHOULD PUSH BACK ONTO THE COAST BY SUNSET AND INLAND DURING THE EVENING REACHING THE INLAND VALLEY AREAS AROUND MIDNIGHT. EXPECT A LITTLE LATER CLEARING ON SATURDAY. ABOVE THE MARINE LAYER...MOSTLY CLEAR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY. VISIBILITIES SHOULD BE UNRESTRICTED EXCEPT VICINITY OF THE WILD FIRES EAST OF KSAN AND WEST OF KRIV. HORTON && .SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && PUBLIC...LAVIS AVIATION...HORTON
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in California, September 2007
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: 60648.