Wildfire in California, September 11 to 17, 2008

Name: Wildfire in California, September 11 to 17, 2008
Start: 2008-09-11T20:00
End: 2008-09-17T17:00
Location: California

September 11 to 17, 2008 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Cascadel wildfire was located in the Sierra National Forest. The ignition date was September 11 at 2000 PST.

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 Cascadel wildfire was located in the Sierra National Forest. The ignition date was September 11 at 2000 PST. The cause was human, from target shooting. The location was 3 miles East-Northeast of North Fork in Madera County. The size was 280 acres. The wildfire was contained on September 17 at 1700 PST. There were no fatalities or properties damaged. The cost to containment was $3,100,000.

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 Sep 11, 1:54 PM PST, 6 hours 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 11, 1:54 PM PST, 6 hours 6 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
254 PM PDT THU SEP 11 2008

.DISCUSSION...A DRY AND STABLE AIR OVER THE REGION TODAY AS THE
UPPER RIDGE IS BEGINNING TO BUILD BACK IN. TEMPERATURES ARE
RUNNING UP 4-9 DEGREES OVER 24 HRS AGO. A SLOW WARMING TREND WILL
TAKE PLACE THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS HEIGHTS AND 850MB SLOWLY RISE.
THE 850MB TEMPERATURES AROUND 24C OVER THE WEEKEND WOULD SUPPORT
VALLEY TEMPERATURES INTO THE UPPER 90S...POSSIBLE 100 DEGREES AT
THE WARMEST LOCATIONS.

THE RIDGE SHIFTS EASTWARD EARLY NEXT WEEK AS AN UPPER LOW DEVELOPS
ALONG THE CALIFORNIA. THIS OPENS THE DOOR FOR SOME MOISTURE TO
MOVE INTO THE SIERRA NEVADA AND BRING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS TO THE SIERRA ZONES TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. THE LOW
ALONG THE COAST WILL ALSO ALLOW COOLER AIR TO MOVE INTO THE REGION
BEGINNING TUESDAY. BY WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY VALLEY HIGH
TEMPERATURES COULD BE IN THE MID AND UPPER 80S.

&&

.AVIATION...LOCAL MVFR WILL BE POSSIBLE IN HAZE OVER THE CENTRAL
AND SOUTH SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY FROM 12Z-18Z FRIDAY. OTHERWISE VFR
CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR
THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE

&&

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

PUBLIC...BEAN
AVN/FW...DS

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 11, 7:40 AM PST, 12 hours 20 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
840 AM PDT THU SEP 11 2008

CAZ089>099-111845-
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-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-
SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
840 AM PDT THU SEP 11 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ALL OF INTERIOR CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL
WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

JONES

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, S Sierra Foothills

When: September 11, 8:00 PM PST to September 17, 5:00 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Foothills 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

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: 137034.