Wildfire in California, July 25 to 31, 2008

Name: Wildfire in California, July 25 to 31, 2008
Start: 2008-07-25T13:10
End: 2008-07-31T23:59
Location: California

July 25 to 31, 2008 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Telegraph wildfire was located in the CalFire Merced-Madera-Mariposa Unit, near Mariposa in Mariposa County. The ignition date was July 25 at 1410 PST.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $25 million
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 Telegraph wildfire was located in the CalFire Merced-Madera-Mariposa Unit, near Mariposa in Mariposa County. The ignition date was July 25 at 1410 PST. The cause was human, due to target shooting. The size was 34,091 acres. The wildfire was contained on August 5. There were no fatalities. There were 130 properties lost, of which 100 were outbuildings. Property damages were estimated at $25M. The cost to containment was $36.5M.

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 25, 9:33 AM PST, 3 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 25, 9:33 AM PST, 3 hours 37 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1033 AM PDT FRI JUL 25 2008

.UPDATE...VERY DRY AIRMASS IN PLACE OVER THE FORECAST AREA AS
UPPER LEVEL RIDGING REMAINS THE DOMINANT FEATURE FOR THE
SOUTHWESTERN U.S. LATEST MODEL RUNS KEEP MOISTURE/DYNAMICS
ASSOCIATED WITH A SURGE OF MONSOONAL MOISTURE OVER ARIZONA WELL
TO OUR SOUTHEAST. TIMING OF THIS MOISTURE ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY
ALSO SUPPORTS REMOVING POPS FOR THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING AND WILL
UPDATE FORECAST IN MOUNTAIN/DESERT ZONES TO REFLECT THIS. OTHERWISE
TEMPERATURE TRENDS ARE NEAR PERSISTENCE COMPARED TO YESTERDAY FOR
ANOTHER WARM DAY.

&&

.AVIATION...A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTHERN
SIERRA NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS AND THE KERN DESERTS BETWEEN
18Z TODAY AND 06Z SATURDAY...WITH LOCAL MVFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE DUE
TO CEILINGS...REDUCED VISIBILITY IN RAIN OR MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS.
OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
ON FRIDAY JULY 25 2008... UNHEALTHY IN KERN AND TULARE COUNTIES.
UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS IN FRESNO COUNTY.
FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT VALLEYAIR.ORG

&&

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

PUBLIC...MENDENHALL
AVN/FW...DCH

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, S Sierra Mtns

When: July 25, 1:10 PM PST to July 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Property damage: $25 million
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, 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: 137053.