A wildfire burned 2000 acres in Butte County in early August.
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 STO wrote it up.
A wildfire burned 2000 acres in Butte County in early August.
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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 2, 7:50 PM PST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 850 PM PDT SAT AUG 2 2008 .DISCUSSION... WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A HIGH OVER THE ERN PAC WITH A WEAK INDUCED TROUGH OVER THE COAST. THIS IS STILL GENERATING A DRY SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. THE GRADIENT ALONG THE COAST HAS INTENSIFIED LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE ARCATA-RDD GRADIENT RANGES FROM 9.6-9.9 AND SFO-VCB IS UP TO 4.3. TRAVIS AFB WINDS ARE IN THE MID 20S WITH GUSTS AROUND 30 MPH. WE EXPECT THIS TO CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. THE NRN SAC VALLEY AND COASTAL MTN FOOTHILL WIND DIRECTIONS WILL MAKE A 180 SWITCH WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO. THE MARINE LAYER IS EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP BUT NOT EXPECTED TO PUSH INTO THE DELTA FOR EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO BE COOLER THROUGH THE DAY ON SUNDAY OVER THE DELTA INFLUENCED REGIONS WHILE THE MTNS AND NRN SAC VALLEY SHOULD NOT SEE MUCH OF A COOLDOWN SUNDAY. RIDGING OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST WILL EXPAND INTO THE REGION ON MONDAY BRINGING WARMER TEMPERATURES. NO CHANGES TO THE FORECAST AT THIS TIME. MAIN FORECAST ISSUE FOR THIS COMING WEEK WILL BE THE POSSIBILITY OF MONSOONAL MOISTURE SPREADING OVER THE CREST OF THE SIERRA AND SOUTHERN CASCADES...WHICH COULD TRANSLATE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS/SHOWERS STARTING TUESDAY AFTERNOON. JCLAPP .EXTENDED DISCUSSION (WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY)...THE GFS IS STILL TRENDING TOWARD A SPLIT FLOW WITH A RIDGE OVER WESTERN CANADA WHILE THE DESERT SOUTHWEST RIDGE EXPANDS TOWARD THE EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN. THIS RESULTS IN A TROF ALONG THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. GFS HAS LIFTED MONSOONAL MOISTURE NORTH INTO THE SIERRA FOR THE PAST SEVERAL RUNS. IN FACT THE LATEST RUN BROUGHT IT ALL THE WAY TO THE OREGON BORDER WEDNESDAY. HOWEVER...THE ECMWF REMAINS MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH AN UPPER LOW OUT NEAR 150W...BRINGING IT INTO WESTERN CANADA BY THURSDAY. THIS WOULD PUSH THE THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE EAST OF OUR AREA. CURRENT FORECAST INDICATES DRY WEATHER FOR DAYS 6 AND 7. THIS IS A CASE WHERE IT MAY BE EASIER TO FORECAST LATER DAYS IN THE FORECAST PERIOD THAN DAYS 4 AND 5. FOR WEDNESDAY...THE GFS ALSO DRIFTS THE LOW CLOSER TO THE COAST...BUT IT ALSO SHOWS A LOT OF INSTABILITY IN THE SHASTA COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND MENDOCINO FOREST. IF THE ECMWF IS CORRECT...WEDNESDAY MAY BE THUNDERSTORM FREE AS WELL. FOR NOW THE FORECAST WILL BE A COMPROMISE AND WE WILL MATCH WFO RENO IN LIFTING THE SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE LASSEN PARKA AREA WEDNESDAY. ONCE THE LOW / TROF MOVES INLAND WE SHOULD HAVE A NICE BREEZE THROUGH THE DELTA EACH DAY AND PLEASANT TEMPERATURES NEAR NORMAL IN THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY. IT MAY BE A LITTLE WARMER WEDNESDAY. SG && .AVIATION... WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH ACROSS FAR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TONIGHT WITH SOUTHWEST MID AND UPPER FLOW. INCREASED STABILITY KEEPING SMOKE TO A MINIMUM AND RELATIVELY LOW IN ALTITUDE. PIREPS FROM EARLY TODAY OVER CENTRAL AND NRN SAC VALLEY REPORTED SMOKE LYR TOPS FROM 040 TO 065 AGL. VFR CONDITIONS TO PREVAIL MOST AREAS...EXCEPT AREAS OF MVFR VSBYS IN SMOKE DOWNWIND OF FIRES IN TRINITY AND PLUMAS COUNTIES. JCLAPP && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 700 AM PDT SAT AUG 2 2008 CAZ013>019-063-064-066>069-031400- SHASTA LAKE AREA/NORTHERN SHASTA COUNTY- BURNEY BASIN/EASTERN SHASTA COUNTY-NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY- CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY-SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY- CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA-NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MOUNTAINS SOUTHWESTERN SHASTA TO NORTHERN LAKE COUNTIES- CLEAR LAKE/SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY-MOTHERLODE- EAST FOOTHILLS/NORTH SACRAMENTO VALLEY- WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK-WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA- 700 AM PDT SAT AUG 2 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT (LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/STO
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Craig wildfire was located near Lake Oroville and burned 2001 acres before being 100 percent contained on August 11th. The fire began on the 3rd from unknown causes. No damage or injuries were reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 2008
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: 132455.