Lightning started the Wildhorse Fire about 16 miles north of Williams and the Red Fire about one mile south of Red Mountain on July 21.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.
Lightning started the Wildhorse Fire about 16 miles north of Williams and the Red Fire about one mile south of Red Mountain on July 21.
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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 21, 3:30 AM MST, 5 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 330 AM MST TUE JUL 21 2009 .SYNOPSIS...INCREASED MOISTURE ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA WILL BRING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING THROUGH THE WORK WEEK. EXPECT SUBTLE DAY TO DAY CHANGES IN THE LOCATION OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. && .DISCUSSION...DEEP MOISTURE CONTINUES OVER NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS MORNING WITH SFC DEWPOINTS IN THE 50S TO LOW 60S. THE HIGH PRESSURE CENTER HAS SHIFTED WESTWARD AND A WEAK CYCLONIC CIRCULATION WILL MOVE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TODAY. STORM CHANCES FOR LATER TODAY HAVE BEEN INCREASED...AND WE WOULD HAVE GONE EVEN HIGHER BUT EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER MAY LIMIT INSTABILITY FOR SOME AREAS. STORM MOTION WILL BE VARIABLE ACROSS THE STATE TODAY DUE TO THE CIRCULATION CENTER CROSSING THE AREA. WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE WILL SEE STORM MOTION GENERALLY TOWARD THE SOUTH WHILE EASTERN SECTIONS WILL SEE A MORE EASTERLY MOVEMENT. WITH THE DEEP MOISTURE IN PLACE...THERE WILL BE A THREAT OF LOCALIZED FLOODING AND HAIL WITH THE STRONGER STORMS. FOR WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...THE HIGH PRESSURE CENTER IS FORECAST TO STRENGTHEN AND MOVE BACK TOWARD UTAH...PLACING NORTHERN ARIZONA IN AN EAST OR NORTHEAST FLOW ALOFT. SOME DRIER AIR MAY MOVE INTO NORTHEAST ARIZONA REDUCING STORM CHANCES AND BRINGING HOTTER WEATHER THERE. THIS FLOW PATTERN WILL FAVOR STORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE MOGOLLON RIM AND WHITE MTNS EARLY...THEN STRENGTHENING AND MOVING SOUTHWARD INTO THE VALLEYS SOUTH OF THE RIM DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE RIDGE IS FORECAST TO BE LOCATED NEAR OR JUST EAST OF THE AREA FOR THE WEEKEND BRINGING SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. WE WILL CONTINUE TO FORECAST SCATTERED AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY...WITH THE BEST CHANCE ALONG THE HIGHER TERRAIN SOUTHWARD. && AVIATION...FOR THE 12Z PACKAGE...TIL 18Z EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS WITH SCT-BKN 12 KFT AGL CLOUD BASES AND DIMINISHING -SHRA NORTH OF I-40. SOUTH OF I-40 TIL 18Z... BKN-OVC 15 KFT AGL CLOUD BASES AND AREAS OF -SHRA AND ISOLD TSRA MOVING SOUTHEASTWARD INTO YAVAPAI COUNTY. 18Z TUE-03Z WEDS....SCT SHRA/TSRA ARE FORECAST SOUTH OF A LINE FROM KPGA-KINW-KRQE...WITH ISOLD COVERAGE NORTH OF THIS LINE. LOCAL MVFR VISIBILITIES AND CEILINGS ARE PROBABLE IN STRONGER STORMS. AFT 03Z WEDS...CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY SHOULD DECREASE WITH BKN 12-14 KFT AGL CLOUDS REMAINING. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...TODAY AND WEDNESDAY...MONSOON MOISTURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE NORTHLAND. EXPECT SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BOTH DAYS. DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL RETURN TO NEAR NORMAL. THE WINDS WILL BE GENERALLY LIGHT...EXCEPT NEAR STORMS WHERE OUTFLOWS COULD PRODUCE WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH. THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL WEAKEN SLIGHTLY AND SHIFT EASTWARD TOWARD THE 4-CORNERS. CURRENT MODEL FORECASTS SHOW DRIER LOW LEVEL AIR MOVING INTO FAR NORTHERN ARIZONA. THIS IN TURN PRODUCES AFTERNOON MINIMUM RH LESS THAN 15 PERCENT FOR AREAS THAT ARE BOTH NORTH OF A LINE FROM FREDONIA TO ST JOHNS AND BELOW 6000 FEET. ELSEWHERE...WIDELY SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE. WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE LIGHT OUTSIDE OF THUNDERSTORMS. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && PUBLIC........................JJ AVIATION/FIRE WEATHER.........41 VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 1018 AM MST MON JUL 20 2009 AZZ004>018-037>040-210645- KAIBAB PLATEAU-MARBLE AND GLEN CANYONS-GRAND CANYON COUNTRY- COCONINO PLATEAU-YAVAPAI COUNTY MOUNTAINS- NORTHEAST PLATEAUS AND MESAS HWY 264 NORTHWARD-CHINLE VALLEY- CHUSKA MOUNTAINS AND DEFIANCE PLATEAU- LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN COCONINO COUNTY- LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN NAVAJO COUNTY- LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN APACHE COUNTY- WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM-EASTERN MOGOLLON RIM-WHITE MOUNTAINS- NORTHERN GILA COUNTY-YAVAPAI COUNTY VALLEYS AND BASINS- OAK CREEK AND SYCAMORE CANYONS-BLACK MESA AREA- NORTHEAST PLATEAUS AND MESAS SOUTH OF HWY 264- 1018 AM MST MON JUL 20 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA...NORTH CENTRAL ARIZONA...NORTHEAST ARIZONA AND WEST CENTRAL ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO BRING VERY WARM TEMPERATURES AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TO NORTHERN ARIZONA. THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE FAVORED ALONG THE MOGOLLON RIM AND OVER THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. STORMS WILL GENERALLY BE OUTFLOW DRIVEN TODAY WITH WEAK WESTERLY TO SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW HELPING TO PUSH STORMS INTO THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON. THE PRIMARY THREATS TODAY WILL BE FROM STRONG GUSTY WINDS NEAR THUNDERSTORMS...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN CENTERED OVER THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES...WITH MUCH WARMER THAN NORMAL DAYTIME TEMPERATURES PERSISTING. GOOD CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning started the Wildhorse Fire about 16 miles north of Williams. It burned about 1,149 acres by the end of July. It then became part of the Wildhorse Complex with the Red Fire.
Lightning started the Red Fire about one mile south of Red Mountain. It burned about 130 acres before it became part of the Wildhorse Complex.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, July 2009
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: 195246, 195247.