Wildfire, Okanogan Valley
- When
- July 7, 12:00 AM PST to July 14, 11:59 PM PST
- Where
- Okanogan Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Other Federal Agency
- Coordinates
- 48.143, -119.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Washington, July 7 to 14, 2007
The Little Chopaka Fire, centered three miles west of Nighthawk, burned 4,428 acres.
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 OTX wrote it up.
The Little Chopaka Fire, centered three miles west of Nighthawk, burned 4,428 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 Jul 6, 8:06 PM PST, 3 hours 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 6, 8:06 PM PST, 3 hours 54 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 906 PM PDT FRI JUL 6 2007 .SYNOPSIS... THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE FROM THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS WILL BE SHIFTING EASTWARD THROUGH THE WEEKEND LEADING TO MODERATING TEMPERATURES...HOWEVER WITH THE LARGE SCALE STORM TRACK WELL TO OUR NORTH...CLEAR AND DRY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO PREVAIL. && .DISCUSSION... REST OF TONIGHT...RISING DEW PT TEMPS ACCOMPANYING STRENGTHENING WEST WINDS AS A MARITIME AIR-MASS TOPS THE CASCADES AND WORKS ITS WAY INTO ERN WA WILL COMBINE WITH COOLING SFC TEMPS TO END THE LOW RH/HIGH WINDS COMBO THAT PRODUCED CRITICAL FIRE WX CONDITION LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. WITH THIS THREAT ENDED...THE FOCUS HAS TURNED TO THUNDER. WE HAVE ENDED THE MENTION OF THUNDER FOR ID ZONE 27 (CAMAS PRAIRIE REGION SE OF KLWS). SFC-BASED THUNDER GENERALLY TIED TO THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE THE WALLOWA MTNS OF NE OREGON LATE IN THE AFTERNOON WAS VERY PERSISTENT AND STRONG. BUT DESPITE A STEERING FLOW OF 20KT OUT OF THE SW...NONE OF THE STORMS MANAGED TO HOLD TOGETHER VERY WELL AS THEY TRACKED TWD LEWISTON...PARTLY A RESULT OF A DECENT CAP IN PLACE AWAY FROM THE HIGHER TERRAIN. NONETHELESS...A COUPLE LIGHTNING STRIKES MANAGED TO GET PICKED UP JUST INSIDE AND ALONG THE BORDER OF LEWIS AND NEZ PERCE COUNTIES OF THE CAMAS PRAIRIE OF ID. DOWNWARD TREND IS EXPECTED THE NEXT COUPLE HRS. WILD CARD WILL BE THE SHORT- WAVE MOVING NE THRU NRN CALIF AND SRN OREGON ATTM...TRACKING INTO SE OREGON AS IT WEAKENS AND SHEARS OVERNIGHT. GIVEN THE LARGE HT-FALLS ALOFT ACCOMPANYING THE DEMISE OF THE UPPER RIDGE OVER THE PAC NW... AND THE ASSOCIATED TRANSITION TO WLY FLOW...THE THETA-E RIDGE/PLUME AHEAD OF THE AFORE-MENTIONED WAVE HAS TAKEN ON MORE OF A SW/NE ORIENTATION...AIMING THE AXIS OF STEEPEST INSTABILITY ALOFT TOWARD C AND SRN ID. THIS SHOULD KEEP THE CHANCE OF THUNDER OUT OF THE SE CORNER OF MY CWA EVEN THOUGH LG-SCALE FORCING FOR ASCENT AHEAD OF THE SHORT-WAVE WILL SLOWLY INCREASE ACROSS NE OREGON. BZ && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY. BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST AT THE MOUTH OF CASCADES MOUNTAIN GAPS AND OVER THE DEEP BASIN THROUGH THE EVENING...ESPECIALLY AT KEAT. OUTFLOW FROM ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS NEAR THE BLUE MOUNTAINS HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE KLWS TAF. NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT WEATHER IS EXPECTED. BZ && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SPOKANE 61 88 58 86 58 90 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 COEUR DALENE 57 88 55 86 54 89 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 PULLMAN 55 86 52 84 51 87 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 LEWISTON 65 95 62 92 62 94 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 COLVILLE 55 91 54 88 52 92 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 SANDPOINT 56 89 51 85 52 88 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 KELLOGG 59 88 55 86 55 87 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 MOSES LAKE 64 93 60 92 59 93 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 WENATCHEE 67 92 64 89 64 93 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 OMAK 62 93 60 90 60 94 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...NONE. WA...NONE. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 6, 6:44 PM PST, 5 hours 16 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 744 PM PDT FRI JUL 6 2007 IDZ001>004-026-027-WAZ031>038-041>044-080245- NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR DALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE- CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-LEWISTON AREA- LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS- LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES-WASHINGTON PALOUSE- MOSES LAKE AREA-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-SPOKANE AREA- NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-WENATCHEE AREA- EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SANDPOINT...RATHDRUM...BONNERS FERRY... PRIEST RIVER...COEUR DALENE...POST FALLS...HAYDEN...MOSCOW... ST. MARIES...KELLOGG...PINEHURST...OSBURN...WALLACE...MULLAN... LEWISTON...KAMIAH...CRAIGMONT...NEZPERCE...WINCHESTER...ANATONE... PEOLA...CLARKSTON...PULLMAN...MOSES LAKE...EPHRATA...OTHELLO... QUINCY...RITZVILLE...COULEE DAM...ODESSA...ELECTRIC CITY... WILBUR...GRAND COULEE...COULEE CITY...SPOKANE...COLVILLE... DEER PARK...CHEWELAH...NEWPORT...KETTLE FALLS...REPUBLIC... INCHELIUM...WENATCHEE...LEAVENWORTH...MAZAMA...TWISP...WINTHROP... OMAK...OKANOGAN...BREWSTER...BRIDGEPORT...OROVILLE...WATERVILLE... MANSFIELD 744 PM PDT FRI JUL 6 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH IDAHO...NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...CENTRAL WASHINGTON...EAST CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT OUTSIDE OF BREEZY WEST WINDS NEAR THE CASCADES IN THE EVENING...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A SLIGHT COOLING TREND IS EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND...BUT CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN WARM AND DRY.
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
- Heat in Nevada, July 7 to 10, 2007
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, July 7, 2007
- Tornado in Florida, July 7, 2007
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Texas, July 7, 2007
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, July 7, 2007
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 7, 2007
- Damaging Winds in Florida, July 7, 2007
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Montana, July 7, 2007
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Montana, July 7, 2007
- Flash Flooding in Texas, July 7, 2007
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 7, 2007
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 7, 2007
More
Every storm in Washington in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, July 2007
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: 48677.