Wildfire, S Sierra Foothills
- When
- June 21, 2:00 PM PST to June 24, 6:30 AM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Foothills forecast zone
- Reported by
- Park/Forest Service
Wildfire in California, June 21 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
- 3
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 Mariposa Complex wildfire, CalFire, Merced-Madera-Mariposa Unit, ignited on June 21 at 1500 PDT. The cause was lightning. The location was in and around Mariposa in Mariposa County. The size was 2500 acres. This fire was contained on 6/24/08 at 0730 PDT. There were no fatalities or lost structures. Cost unknown.
The Oliver wildfire, CalFire, Merced-Madera-Mariposa Unit, ignited on June 21 at 1710 PDT. The cause was lightning. The location was North of Ponderosa Basin. The size was 2789 acres and the fire was finally contained on 7/5/08. No fatalities or lost structures. Cost to containment was $12,217,857.
The Silver Complex wildfire, Sierra NF, ignited on June 21 at 1710 PDT. The cause was lightning. The location was from Fishcamp, north to the Merced River Canyon. The size was 1,161 acres and the fire was contained on 7/3/08. No fatalities or lost structures. Cost to contain was $3,340,000.
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 Jun 21, 1:50 PM PST, 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 21, 1:50 PM PST, 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 250 PM PDT SAT JUN 21 2008 .UPDATE...ISOLATED AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING THUNDERSTORMS ADDED TO THE ZONES FROM FRESNO COUNTY NORTH. THIS INCLUDES THE SJ VLY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS. && .DISCUSSION...NOT ONLY IS THIS FIRST FULL DAY OF SUMMER CHARACTERIZED BY ITS REPUTABLE HOT WEATHER ACROSS CENTRAL CA... BUT IT IS ALSO EQUIPPED WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH DRY LIGHTNING ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF OUR CWA. A SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT IS PICKING UP SOME MID LEVEL TROPICAL MOISTURE THIS AFTERNOON AND IT IS BEING CHANNELLED BETWEEN AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC AND A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE ANCHORED OVER AZ. A WEAK DISTURBANCE CENTERED JUST OFFSHORE THE SFO BAY AREA...WHICH THE MODELS WERE POOR TO INITIALIZE...HAS RECENTLY LIT UP WITH THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH ALTITUDE WINDS WILL CARRY A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE NORTHERN PORTION OF OUR CWA THIS AFTN AND EVE...PRIMARILY FROM FRESNO COUNTY NORTHWARD INCLUDING THE SJ VLY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS. BECAUSE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE HIGH BASED...PRECIP FROM MOST IF NOT ALL OF THEM WILL EVAPORATE BEFORE REACHING THE GROUND. NONETHELESS...HOT TEMPS...DRY FUELS AND GUSTY WINDS IN THE VICINITY OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL POSE A FIRE DANGER THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. TO COMPLICATE MATTERS...AN INCREASE IN ONSHORE FLOW TONIGHT WILL HAMPER FIRE FIGHTING EFFORTS. ON SUNDAY...THE MODELS FORECAST SOME DRYING TO OCCUR IN THE 700MB-500MB BOUNDARY LAYER WITH A FURTHER INCREASE IN ONSHORE FLOW. WHILE THIS BRINGS A COOLER AND MORE STABLE AIRMASS INTO THE CWA... WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO BE LOCALLY GUSTY...ESPECIALLY ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE SJ VLY. REGARDING TEMPS...AFTER A WARM START SUNDAY... AFTERNOON TEMPS WILL LIKELY BREAK THE CENTURY MARK IN MANY VALLEY LOCALES. DURING THE EARLY PART OF NEXT WEEK...THE MODELS FORECAST A ZONAL FLOW PATTERN TO PREVAIL ACROSS CENTRAL CA WITH A MODERATE ONSHORE FLOW IN THE LOWER LEVELS. LATER IN THE WEEK...MOST OF THE MODELS DEVELOP A WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH ALONG THE CA COAST. IN TURN... THIS WILL DEEPEN THE MARINE LAYER ALONG THE COAST WITH FURTHER COOLING INLAND. HOW MUCH COOLING WILL OCCUR IS UNCERTAIN...BUT IT DOES APPEAR AS THOUGH TEMPS WILL BE MUCH CLOSER TO NORMAL IN THE 4 TO 7 DAY PERIODS. WE WILL ALSO NEED TO KEEP OUR EYES ON THE TROPICS DURING THIS TIME. WITH AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH POSITIONED OFFSHORE AND A RIDGE ANCHORED OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION...MONSOONAL MOISTURE COULD GET CHANNELLED BETWEEN THESE SYSTEMS AND END UP PRODUCING CLOUDS AND PERHAPS ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERT BY NEXT WEEKEND. WILL LEAVE THE EXTENDED PERIODS DRY FOR NOW DUE TO LOW CONFIDENCE. && .AVIATION...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING FROM FRESNO COUNTY NORTH AND IN THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS WITH LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH 00Z MONDAY. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... NONE && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && PUBLIC...DURFEE AVN/FW...DCH WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 21, 11:59 AM PST, 2 hours 1 minute before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 1259 PM PDT SAT JUN 21 2008 CAZ089-090-093>097-221200- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 1259 PM PDT SAT JUN 21 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY, THE FOOTHILLS AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA AS WELL AS THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AS WELL AS THE FOOTHILLS AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA AND KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS BEFORE TAPERING OFF BEFORE MIDNIGHT. AS WITH ALL THUNDERSTORMS, SUDDEN HEAVY RAIN, SMALL HAIL, LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .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. WP WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Event by event
3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Wildfire, S Sierra Mtns
- When
- June 21, 5:10 PM PST to June 30, 11:59 PM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- Park/Forest Service
Wildfire, S Sierra Mtns
- When
- June 21, 5:10 PM PST to June 30, 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
- Lightning Strike in Florida, June 21, 2008
- Wildfire in California, June 21 to 30, 2008
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, June 21, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, June 21, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Nebraska, June 21, 2008
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, June 21, 2008
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, June 21, 2008
- Flash Flood and Hail in Michigan, June 21, 2008
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Georgia, June 21, 2008
- Hail in North Carolina, June 21, 2008
- Tornado and Flash Flood in South Carolina, June 21, 2008
- Damaging Wind in Arizona, June 21, 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: 121173, 121174, 121175.