Name: Wildfire in California, September 10 to 30, 2008
Start: 2008-09-10T17:24
End: 2008-09-30T17:00
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 Hidden wildfire was located in Sequoia National Park, 12 miles North-Northeast of Three Rivers in Tulare County, and was ignited on September 10 at 1724 PST. The case was lightning and the size was 3,366 acres. There were no fatalities or property damage. The cost to containment was $8,913,311. The wildfire was contained on September 30 at 1700 PST.

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 Sep 10, 2:35 PM PST, 2 hours 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 2:35 PM PST, 2 hours 49 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
335 PM PDT WED SEP 10 2008

.DISCUSSION...TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO RUN SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER
ACROSS INTERIOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AS AN UPPER LOW SLIPS SLOWLY
SOUTH THROUGH THE REGION. ISOLATED CONVECTION HAS ALSO DEVELOPED
OVER THE SIERRA IN RESPONSE TO THE PASSING UPPER LOW WITH A COUPLE
OF LIGHTNING STRIKES SO FAR DETECTED IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. THE
LOW WILL CONTINUE TO SLIDE SOUTHWARD AND CONVECTION SHOULD PERSIST
INTO THE EVENING HOURS. EASTERLY FLOW AROUND THE LOW WILL PUSH
CONVECTIVE DEBRIS ACROSS THE VALLEY KEEPING SKIES PARTLY CLOUDY
FOR MUCH OF THE NIGHT AND POSSIBLY PRODUCING A FEW SPRINKLES. DRY
AND WARMING CONDITIONS WILL THEN SET IN THROUGH THE END OF THE
WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE REBUILDS BEHIND THE UPPER LOW. TEMPERATURES
WILL GRADUALLY RETURN TO SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE CLIMO BY THE FIRST
OF NEXT WEEK BUT ONLY A FEW OF THE WARMEST LOCATIONS ARE EXPECTED
TO BE NEAR THE CENTURY MARK. MODELS HAVE SOME DIFFERENCES WITH THE
NEXT APPROACHING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM BUT IT SHOULD GENERALLY BRING
ANOTHER COOLING TREND THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. DEPENDING
ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND TRAJECTORY OF THE SYSTEM...IT MAY TURN THE
FLOW MORE SOUTHEAST AND DRAW ENOUGH MOISTURE INTO THE REGION FOR
ANOTHER SLIGHT CHANCE OF CONVECTION OVER THE SIERRA DURING THE
PERIOD.

&&

.AVIATION...LOCAL MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS THROUGH 04Z
THURSDAY. OTHERWISE VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
ON WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 10 2008... UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS
IN TULARE COUNTY.
FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT VALLEYAIR.ORG

&&

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

PUBLIC...JEB
AVN/FW...DS

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 10, 4:06 PM PST, 1 hour 18 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
506 PM PDT WED SEP 10 2008

CAZ093>098-120015-
MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-
506 PM PDT WED SEP 10 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS
AND FOOTHILLS...THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY.

.DAY ONE...
ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED

.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.

DUDLEY
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 10, 12:05 PM PST, 5 hours 19 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
105 PM PDT WED SEP 10 2008

CAZ093-094-096-097-102300-
MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
105 PM PDT WED SEP 10 2008

...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING NEAR THE SIERRA NEVADA CREST...

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON
IN THE SIERRA NEVADA...MAINLY NEAR AND ALONG THE CREST. EXPECT
BRIEF DOWNPOURS, FREQUENT LIGHTNING, AND SMALL HAIL WITH THIS
ACTIVITY. THE STORMS ARE NEARLY STATIONARY BUT WILL EVENTUALLY
DRIFT TO THE WEST. A FEW SPRINKLES COULD REACH THE FOOTHILLS
LATER THIS AFTERNOON.

JMB

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: September 10, 5:24 PM PST to September 30, 5:00 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty 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, September 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: 137033.