Wildfire in Oregon, August 13 to 31, 2008

Name: Wildfire in Oregon, August 13 to 31, 2008
Start: 2008-08-13T20:00
End: 2008-08-31T23:59
Location: Oregon

August 13 to 31, 2008 · NWS MFR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning from a thunderstorm event on 08/16/08 ignited a round of wildfires across southwest Oregon. The Wild River Complex fires consisted of the East Fork, Whiskers, and Horse Mountain fires.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

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 MFR wrote it up.

Lightning from a thunderstorm event on 08/16/08 ignited a round of wildfires across southwest Oregon. The Wild River Complex fires consisted of the East Fork, Whiskers, and Horse Mountain fires. As of 09/01/08, all fires were contained. The size of the fires was 1082 acres. 6.7 million dollars had been spent on firefighting efforts.

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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 13, 1:04 PM PST, 6 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 1:04 PM PST, 6 hours 56 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
204 PM PDT WED AUG 13 2008

.SHORT TERM...HOT WILL BE THE ADJECTIVE THAT MOST PEOPLE WILL USE
TO DESCRIBE THE WEATHER OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. MODELS ARE IN
AGREEMENT WITH A 591 TO 594 DECAMETER UPPER LEVEL RIDGE AXIS
BUILDING OVER THE WEST COAST BEGINNING THURSDAY. MEANWHILE...AN
ANOMALOUSLY STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL DIVE SOUTH THROUGH THE
GREAT PLAINS WHICH WILL EFFECTIVELY KEEP THE STRONG RIDGE AXIS
OVER OUR REGION THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AT THE SURFACE...THIS WILL
TRANSLATE TO +100F TEMPERATURES FOR THE ROGUE VALLEY THROUGH
SATURDAY. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF CONVECTION SUNDAY...HOWEVER...
MOISTURE IS VERY LIMITED AND SUBSIDENCE UNDERNEATH THE HIGH WILL
LIKELY DOMINATE.

.LONG TERM...MORE CLIMO/SEASONAL WEATHER IS EXPECTED MONDAY ONWARDS AS
AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SWINGS OUT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA AND WEAKENS
THE RIDGE OVER THE AREA. THE 12Z MODEL SUITES ALL AGREE ON THIS
GENERAL UPPER LEVEL PATTERN CHANGE...ALTHOUGH EACH MODEL IS
DIFFERENT ON THE INTENSITY AND AGGRESSIVENESS OF THE UPPER LEVEL
FEATURE. BECAUSE OF THIS UNCERTAINTY...DID NOT INTRODUCE
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD ALTHOUGH COOLER OR
MORE SEASONAL WEATHER IS POSSIBLE AT THE END OF THE UPCOMING HOT
SPELL.

&&

.AVIATION...
IFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE COAST THIS EVENING AND
THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. OTHERWISE, VFR CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED INLAND.

&&

.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...NONE.

CA...NONE.

PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...GALE WARNING UNTIL 3 AM PDT THURSDAY FOR
     PZZ356-PZZ376.
     HAZARDOUS SEAS WARNING UNTIL 3 AM PDT THURSDAY FOR PZZ356-PZZ376.
     SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 10 PM PDT THURSDAY FOR
     PZZ350-PZZ370.
     SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON
     TO 10 PM PDT THURSDAY FOR PZZ350-PZZ370.

RH/KS/MP/MO

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Eastern Curry County & Josephine County

When: August 13, 8:00 PM PST to August 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Eastern Curry County & Josephine County forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 42.417, -123.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning from a thunderstorm event on 08/16/08 ignited a round of wildfires across southwest Oregon. The Lonesome Complex fires, which consisted of the Middle Fork, Lonesome, and Bessie Rock fires. As of 09/01/08, all but the Middle Fork fires were contained. The size of the fires was 800 acres and the Middle Fork fire was 35% contained. 2.6 million dollars had been spent on firefighting efforts.

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 Oregon in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, August 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: 124077.