Name: Wildfire in California, July 19 to 31, 2008
Start: 2008-07-19T12:15
End: 2008-07-31T23:59
Location: California

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 1215 PST. 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 19, 8:17 AM PST, 3 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 19, 8:17 AM PST, 3 hours 58 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
917 AM PDT SAT JUL 19 2008

.DISCUSSION...DRY SOUTHERLY FLOW PREVAILING OVER CENTRAL CA THIS
MORNING AS THE RESULT OF AN UPPER RIDGE CENTERED OVER THE FOUR
CORNERS AREA. SLIGHT RISES IN HEIGHTS AND THICKNESSES WILL RESULT
IN A SLIGHT WARMING ACROSS OUR AREA FROM YDAY. WITH TEMPERATURES
ON TRACK TO REACH PROJECTED MAX/S TODAY AND CLEAR SKIES PREVAILING
ACROSS OUR AREA AM NOT PLANNING TO UPDATE THIS MORNING.

MEANWHILE...WV INDICATING A DRY UPPER LOW OFF THE NORTHERN BAJA
COAST WHICH WILL PULL SOME MONSOONAL MOISTURE NORTHWEST TONIGHT
AND SUNDAY. THE 06Z GFS AND THE 12Z WRF INDICATE THE DEEPER
MOISTURE MIGHT REACH THE THE SOUTHEASTERN PORTION OF OUR CWFA BY
SUNDAY AFTERNOON...BUT IT LOOKS TO BE MARGINAL AT THIS TIME AS
BOTH MODELS INDICATE THE WESTWARD EXTENT OF THE 850 MB 8 DEG C
LINE...HIGHER CAPES...NEGATIVE LI/S AND INCREASED MID LEVEL
MOISTURE RIGHT ALONG OUR BORDER. AS A RESULT...SLIGHT CHANCE OF
T-STORMS FOR THESE AREAS FOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING LOOK
GOOD AT AT THIS TIME. AN UPPER TROUGH IS PROGGED TO PUSH THROUGH
THE PAC NW AND NORCAL ON MONDAY WHICH MIGHT DRAW ADDITIONAL
MOISTURE NORTHWARD. AT THIS TIME THERE REMAINS SOME MODEL
UNCERTAINTY ON THE NORTHWARD EXTENT OF THE TROPICAL MOISTURE THAT
MIGHT AFFECT OUR AREA ON MONDAY...SO A SLIGHT CHANCE OF T-STORMS
LOOKS BEST FOR THESE AREAS ONCE AGAIN.

THE MEDIUM MODELS ARE IN BETTER AGREEMENT THIS MORNING INDICATING
A TROUGH CROSSING OUR AREA MONDAY NIGHT WHICH WILL BRING SLIGHTLY
COOLER TEMPERATURES TO OUR AREA ON TUESDAY ALONG WITH A DRIER
ONSHORE FLOW WHICH IS PROGGED TO REMAIN OVER OUR AREA THROUGH
THURSDAY...KEEPING TROPICAL MOISTURE WELL TO THE EAST OF OUR
AREA. GFS INDICATING ANOTHER TROUGH APPROACHING THE WESTERN CONUS
COAST BY THE END OF THE WEEK WHICH MIGHT HELP SPREAD SOME
MONSOONAL MOISTURE INTO OUR AREA NEXT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. WILL BE
MAKING SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE EXTENDED PERIOD WITH THE AFTERNOON
GRID PACKAGE BASED ON THE BETTER MODEL AGREEMENT THIS MORNING.

&&

.AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
ON SATURDAY JULY 19 2008... UNHEALTHY IN TULARE COUNTY. UNHEALTHY
FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS IN KERN COUNTY.
FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT VALLEYAIR.ORG

&&

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

&&

PUBLIC...DS
AVN/FW...JDB

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 19, 6:06 AM PST, 6 hours 9 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
706 AM PDT SAT JUL 19 2008

CAZ095-097>099-201200-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-
SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
706 AM PDT SAT JUL 19 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR GIVE SPECIFIC AREA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

ON SUNDAY...A RENEWED SOUTHERLY WIND FLOW MAY BRING A RETURN TO
MONSOON TYPE MOISTURE INTO THE MOJAVE DESERT AND SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA...INCLUDING THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERT AND THE
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS. THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR DESERT
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING INTO TUESDAY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN FROM
THUNDERSTORMS COULD CAUSE RENEWED CONCERN FOR FLASH FLOODING IN
THOSE AREAS MOST PRONE. CHECK BACK FOR UPDATED FORECASTS AND
OUTLOOKS OVER THE WEEKEND FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY FOR THE MOJAVE
DESERT...TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...AND SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA SUNDAY
INTO MONDAY DUE TO THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN FROM THUNDERSTORMS.

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

SANGER

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, S Sierra Mtns

When: July 19, 12:15 PM PST to July 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

More

Every storm in California in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in California, July 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: 137055.