Wildfire in California, August 1 to 31, 2008

Name: Wildfire in California, August 1 to 31, 2008
Start: 2008-08-01T00:00
End: 2008-08-31T23:59
Location: California

August 1 to 31, 2008 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Tehipite Fire occurred in Sequoia National Park. The ignition date was July 19 at 1315 PDT.

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 HNX wrote it up.

The Tehipite Fire occurred in Sequoia National Park. The ignition date was July 19 at 1315 PDT. The cause was lightning. The location was 20 miles northeast of Dunlap in Fresno County. The size of the wildfire was 1,331 acres. Estimated date of containment was October 15. There were no fatalities or lost structures. The cost to containment was $500,000.

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 Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 8:25 PM PST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 8:25 PM PST, 3 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
925 PM PDT THU JUL 31 2008

.DISCUSSION...SOUTHWESTERN CONUS RIDGE REMAINS THE MAIN FEATURE OF
CONCERN THIS EVENING. THE RIDGE BUILD WESTWARD TODAY AND IN RESPONSE
MAX TEMPERATURES WERE 2-3 DEG F ABOVE YDAY ACROSS OUR AREA.
HOWEVER...A SLIGHT COOLING IS EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE ON FRIDAY AS
HEIGHTS LOWER SLIGHTLY IN RESPONSE TON AN INCOMING S/W TROUGH.
KSFO-KLAS P-GRAD IS CURRENTLY AROUND 11 MB...BUT THE MARINE LAYER
IS ONLY 1400 FEET DEEP AT FORT ORD SO DON/T EXPECT AS STRONG PUSH
OF MARINE AIR TO AFFECT THE VALLEY TONIGHT. THE COOLING ON
FRIDAY WILL BE SYNOPTIC DRIVEN. WV IS INDICATING AN UPPER LOW
CENTER NEAR 32N/124W WHICH HAS BEEN MOVING NORTH. THE MODELS HAVE
HAD A VERY POOR HANDLE ON THIS FEATURE FROM THE BEGINNING...BUT
WITH THE INCOMING TROUGH IT WILL LIKELY GET PULLED UP ACROSS
CENTRAL CA ON FRIDAY. IR INDICATING LITTLE IN THE WAY OF CLOUDS
WITH THIS LOW AND GOES HIGH DENSITY WINDS INDICATE IT/S MOISTURE
IS ALL ABOVE 450 MB. THUS DO NOT EXPECT ANY PRECIPITATION WITH
THIS FEATURE AS IT CROSSES OUR AREA. TEMPERATURES APPEAR TO BE ON
TRACK TO REACH PROJECTED MIN/S TONIGHT SO AM NOT PLANNING ANY
UPDATES THIS EVENING.

00Z WRF INDICATING AN UPPER TROUGH SLOWLY PUSHING EAST ACROSS
NORCAL OVER THE WEEKEND...KEEPING A DRY SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER OUR
AREA AND WITH HEIGHTS AND THICKNESSES LOWERING...TEMPERATURES WILL
BE A BIT BELOW NORMAL FOR EARLY AUGUST. MEDIUM RANGE PROGS
INDICATING ANOTHER TROUGH DEEPENING OFF THE WESTERN CONUS COAST
EARLY NEXT WEEK ALTHOUGH WITH TIMING AND PLACEMENT DIFFERENCES.
THE GFS CONTINUES TO SUGGEST SOME MONSOONAL MOISTURE MIGHT MOVE
INTO SOUTHEASTERN CA BY EARLY NEXT WEEK AND AFFECT OUR AREA NEXT
TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. FOR NOW...CURRENT MENTION OF INCREASED
CLOUDS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF DIURNAL THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE
MOUNTAINS DURING THIS PERIOD LOOKS REASONABLE.

&&

.AVIATION...LOCAL MVFR CONDITIONS DUE TO SMOKE WILL PERSIST OVER THE
SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA NEAR YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK...ALONG WITH THE
ADJACENT FOOTHILLS. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH
06Z SATURDAY OVER THE REST OF INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
PLEASE SEE SFOAQAHNX

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

PUBLIC...DS
AVN/FW...BENTZIEN

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 31, 11:43 AM PST, 12 hours 17 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1243 PM PDT THU JUL 31 2008

CAZ093-096-011200-
MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
1243 PM PDT THU JUL 31 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE FOOTHILLS AND HIGHER
ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT FOR MARIPOSA AND TUOLUMNE COUNTIES THROUGH
NOON PDT FRIDAY. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE REFER TO SFOAQAHNX OR
SEE WMO HEADER AEUS76 KHNX.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT FOR MARIPOSA AND TUOLUMNE COUNTIES THROUGH
NOON PDT FRIDAY. AIR QUALITY FOR AREAS SURROUNDING THE TELEGRAPH
FIRE MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL ALERTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE
REFER TO SFOAQAHNX OR SEE WMO HEADER AEUS76 KHNX.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR
UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

OCHS

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, S Sierra Mtns

When: August 1, 12:00 AM PST to August 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

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 California in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in California, August 2008

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: 134105.