Wildfire, Tulare Cty Mtns
- When
- June 1, 12:00 AM PST to June 30, 11:59 PM PST
- Where
- Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- Park/Forest Service
Wildfire in California, June 1 to 30, 2008
June saw the fourth consecutive month of below-normal rainfall in the central California interior, as neither Fresno nor Bakersfield had any rain. While dry Junes are not uncommon (this was Bakersfield’s 72nd dry June, and Fresno’s 50th), the prospect of a dry June coming on the heels of the driest March-May on record for Bakersfield, and the 4th driest for Fresno, was a factor in Governor…
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.
June saw the fourth consecutive month of below-normal rainfall in the central California interior, as neither Fresno nor Bakersfield had any rain. While dry Junes are not uncommon (this was Bakersfield’s 72nd dry June, and Fresno’s 50th), the prospect of a dry June coming on the heels of the driest March-May on record for Bakersfield, and the 4th driest for Fresno, was a factor in Governor Schwarzenegger declaring a drought for the state on June 4th. In addition to the agricultural and hydrological impacts of the dry weather, the fire danger due to dried brush and other vegetation was high, and thunderstorms that moved through the state during the latter half of the month triggered numerous wildfires.
Bakersfield ended the 2007-2008 rain season (which runs from July 1st to June 30th) with a season total of only 2.38 inches, or 36.7 % of the normal of 6.49 inches. The past season was the 2nd driest on record, surpassed only by the 1933-34 season which saw only 2.21 inches. Fresno fared much better, due to an unseasonably wet December through February, but the rains ended abruptly in late February and the season ended with 8.40 inches. This was 74.8 % of Fresno’s normal of 11.23 inches.
The Clover Wildfire, in the Sequoia NF, ignited on May 28, 2008, and was finally contained July 20, 2008. This wildfire was caused by lightning. The location was 8 miles north of Kennedy Meadows, CA in Tulare County. The size was 15,262 acres. No fatalities or lost structures. The cost to contain this fire was $8,310,000.
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 May 31, 7:25 PM PST, 4 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 31, 7:25 PM PST, 4 hours 35 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 825 PM PDT SAT MAY 31 2008 ...NO UPDATES TO CURRENT FORECAST PACKAGE... .DISCUSSION...MAY IS ENDING ON A TRANQUIL NOTE...WEATHERWISE. BUT AS WE REFLECT ON IT...IT WAS CERTAINLY A MONTH OF EXTREMES. NEW RECORDS WERE ESTABLISHED FOR HEAT AND UNSEASONABLY COOL TEMPERATURES. ALTHOUGH THIS MONTH WAS DRIER THAN NORMAL...MORE PRECIPITATION FELL THIS MAY THAN THE MONTHS OF MARCH AND APRIL COMBINED. AS WE MOVE INTO THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE...IT LOOKS AS THOUGH DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR. AN ONSHORE FLOW WILL PERSIST THROUGH AT LEAST THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK AND KEEP TEMPS AT OR SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL ACROSS THE CWA. THE MARINE LAYER IS CURRENTLY ABOUT 2400 FT DEEP ALONG THE CENTRAL CA COAST AND SFC PRS GRADIENTS ARE NEAR 13.0 MB BETWEEN SFO AND LAS. THIS IS STRONG ENOUGH TO KEEP OCEAN-COOLED AIR FLOWING RATHER STEADILY INTO THE SJ VLY TONIGHT. THE WEATHER TOMORROW WILL BE ALMOST A CARBON COPY OF TODAY AS THE MODELS FORECAST LITTLE CHANGE IN BOUNDARY LAYER TEMPS AND 1000-500 MB THICKNESSES ACROSS CENTRAL CA. A SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING SOME HIGH CLOUDS INTO CENTRAL CA ON OCCASION...BUT OTHERWISE SKIES WILL REMAIN MOSTLY CLEAR FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEKEND. REFERENCING THE EARLIER DISCUSSION...A WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE STATE MONDAY. HOWEVER...WITH LITTLE DYNAMICS AND MOISTURE TO WORK WITH...THIS TROUGH WILL HAVE DIFFICULTY PRODUCING AFTERNOON CONVECTION OVER THE SIERRA MONDAY. A STRONGER TROUGH IS SLATED TO MOVE INTO THE PAC NW TUE EVE...BUT ITS MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS WILL REMAIN WELL NORTH OF OUR CWA. AS THIS TROUGH DEEPENS OVER THE GREAT BASIN WEDNESDAY...THE ONSHORE FLOW WILL STRENGTHEN IN ITS WAKE AND PRODUCE LOCALLY STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS OVER THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR WED AFTN AND EVE. THE WARMUP THAT WAS ANTICIPATED FOR LATE IN THE WEEK MAY ONLY LAST ONE DAY...MAYBE TWO...AS THE EPAC RIDGE NUDGES INTO CA. THAT WOULD MAKE FRIDAY AND PERHAPS SATURDAY OUR WARMEST DAYS DURING THE NEXT 7 DAYS WITH TEMPS FINALLY AVERAGING SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. CONFIDENCE IS LOW IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD REGARDING TEMPS AS IT SEEMS THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS CANNOT DECIDE WHETHER TO DEEPEN AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH ALONG THE WEST COAST OR BUILD THE EPAC RIDGE INTO CA. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE AREA THROUGH 06Z MONDAY. WINDS OVER THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS WILL INCREASE SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH LOCAL GUSTS REACHING 40 KTS. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... NONE && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && PUBLIC...DURFEE AVN/FW...MOLINA WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, May 31, 6:15 AM PST, 17 hours 45 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 715 AM PDT SAT MAY 31 2008 CAZ089-312200- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- 715 AM PDT SAT MAY 31 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR THE SAN LUIS RESERVOIR...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON. FOR DETAILS...PLEASE REFER TO THE URGENT WEATHER MESSAGE /SFONPWHNX OR WWUS76/ ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. SANGER WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
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
- Rip Current in Texas, June 1, 2008
- Flooding in Iowa, June 1 to 30, 2008
- Flooding in Iowa, June 1 to 25, 2008
- Flooding in Indiana, June 1 to 20, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, June 1, 2008
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Oklahoma, June 1, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, June 1, 2008
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Iowa, June 1 to 3, 2008
- Heat and Drought in Texas, June 1 to 20, 2008
- Flooding in Nebraska, June 1 to 21, 2008
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Arkansas, June 1, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, June 1, 2008
More
Every storm in California in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in California, June 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: 121169.