Wildfire, Kern Cty Mtns
- When
- June 28, 2:59 PM PST to June 30, 11:59 PM PST
- Where
- Kern Cty Mtns forecast zone
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
Wildfire in California, June 28 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
- $1.0 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.
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 Piute wildfire, Sequoia NF, ignited on June 28 at 1459 PDT. The cause was unknown. The location was 8 miles North of Twin Oaks, Kern County. The size was 37,026 acres, and the fire was finally contained on 7/25/08. No fatalities. There were 51 structures lost (6 Primary, 45 Outbuildings). Cost to contain was $25 Million.
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 28, 2:00 PM PST, 59 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 28, 2:00 PM PST, 59 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 300 PM PDT SAT JUN 28 2008 .DISCUSSION... SOME CUMULUS CLOUDS DEVELOPING ALONG THE SIERRA MAINLY NORTH OF KINGS CANYON. OTHERWISE DRY CONDITIONS WITH HAZE AND SMOKE OVER MUCH THE REGION. CLEARER CONDITIONS WITH IMPROVED VISIBILITIES CAN BE SEEN TOWARDS THE MOJAVE DESERT. WILL MAINTAIN A THREAT OF THUNDER OVER THE SIERRA INTO EARLY THIS EVENING WITH THE INCREASED IN UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE AND SE MID LEVEL FLOW. THE A CLOSED UPPER LOW OFF THE COAST OPENS UP TONIGHT AND STARTS MOVING NORTH. MODELS INDICATE INSTABILITY AND AREAS OF POSITIVE CAPE OVER THE SIERRA SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THINK ANY CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL WILL BE LIMITED TO THE SIERRA CREST WITH A STRONGER SOUTH FLOW. THE MID LEVEL WINDS FLOW TURNS MORE SW MONDAY AS THE LOW PUSHES TOWARDS OREGON. THIS WILL PLACE THE SIERRA IN A MORE STABLE SW FLOW PATTERN MINIMIZING THE CONVECTIVE THREAT. THEREAFTER A DRY SW FLOW WILL BRING DRY AND WARM CONDITIONS THROUGH WEDNESDAY. LITTLE CHANGE IN TEMPERATURES EXPECTED THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE EXTENDED MODELS PROG AN OPEN SHORT WAVE MOVING THOUGH NORTH CALIFORNIA THURSDAY. STRONGER ONSHORE FLOW SHOULD BRING COOLER MARINE AIR AND WINDIER CONDITIONS INTO THE INTERIOR OF CALIFORNIA THURSDAY. COOLER TEMPERATURES SHOULD PREVAIL THROUGH FRIDAY. && .AVIATION...EXPECT AREAS OF MVFR IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS DUE TO SMOKE AND HAZE THROUGH 00Z MONDAY WITH LOCAL IFR IN THE MOUNTAINS IN THE PROXIMITY OF WILDFIRES. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE NEAR THE SIERRA CREST SUNDAY AFTERNOON. ELSEWHERE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH 00Z MONDAY. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... AN AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT. PLEASE SEE SFONPWHNX FOR DETAILS && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY UNTIL 11 AM PDT MONDAY FOR CAZ089>099. RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 8 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR CAZ296. FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING FOR CAZ296. && PUBLIC...MV AVN/FW...JEB WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 28, 2:24 PM PST, 35 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 324 PM PDT SAT JUN 28 2008 CAZ096-291200- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- 324 PM PDT SAT JUN 28 2008 UPDATED TO INCLUDE FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK TO THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK. .DAY ONE...REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT RED FLAG WARNING FOR DRY LIGHTNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 8 PM PDT TONIGHT. AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 11 AM PDT MONDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR DRY LIGHTNING IN EFFECT FOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND SUNDAY EVENING. AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 11 AM PDT MONDAY. .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. BSO WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD CAZ089>095-097>099-291200- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS- TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 324 PM PDT SAT JUN 28 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ALL OF INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 11 AM PDT MONDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 11 AM PDT MONDAY. .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. BSO 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
- Heat in Oregon, June 28 to 29, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, June 28, 2008
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, June 28 to 29, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 28, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, June 28, 2008
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, June 28, 2008
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, June 28, 2008
- Damaging Winds in West Virginia, June 28, 2008
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, June 28, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, June 28, 2008
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Kansas, June 28, 2008
- Damaging Winds in West Virginia, June 28, 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: 121177.