The lightning caused Pioneer Fire started on May 30 near Globe Arizona and burned through ponderosa pine, manzanita, and oak brush vegetation in steep, rough terrain. The fire threatened multi-million dollar communication towers in the Pinal Mountains.
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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.
The lightning caused Pioneer Fire started on May 30 near Globe Arizona and burned through ponderosa pine, manzanita, and oak brush vegetation in steep, rough terrain. The fire threatened multi-million dollar communication towers in the Pinal Mountains. Fire fighting efforts prevented the fire from crossing Pioneer Canyon below the communication towers. The fire was at least 45 % contained by June 13th at around 1,300 acres with little additional spread.
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 May 30, 10:40 AM MST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED FOR ISOLD WIND THREAT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 1040 AM MST SAT MAY 30 2009 .SYNOPSIS...SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES...LIGHT WINDS AND SCATTERED AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. DRIER AND WARMER WEATHER IS EXPECTED NEXT WEEK...WITH ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS. && .DISCUSSION...UPPER LOW CURRENTLY (900 AM MST) CENTERED SOUTH OF LAS VEGAS ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER WITH STORMS ALREADY OCCURRING UNDER THE COLD POOL -16C 500 MB AIR AND WEAK DIFFLUENCE ALOFT TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF THE UPPER LOW CENTER. ANOTHER LINE OF STORMS ARE ORGANIZING FROM BLACK CANYON CITY NORTHWEST TO 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SELIGMAN. BEST MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS WITH THIS SYSTEM IS HEADED FOR NAVAJO AND APACHE COUNTIES AND EASTERN COCONINO COUNTIES FOR THIS AFTERNOON. EXPECTING AN ISOLD WIND THREAT IN A FEW STRONG STORMS ALONG WITH SOME HAIL WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF ISOLD HEAVY RAIN MAINLY EAST OF FLAGSTAFF TO THE NEW MEXICO BORDER. THE GRIDDED FORECASTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED TO INCREASE PRECIPITATION CHANCE THIS AFTERNOON EAST OF FLAGSTAFF. THE ZONE FORECASTS WILL BE UPDATED SHORTLY. && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION /245 AM MST/...A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CURRENTLY LOCATED ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILL LIFT INTO WESTERN ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...THEN INTO NORTHEAST ARIZONA FOR SUNDAY. SFC DEWPOINTS THIS MORNING ARE AROUND 40F FOR OUR FORECAST AREA...A BIT HIGHER THAN MODEL FORECASTS. WITH THE MOISTURE IN PLACE...EXPECT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS BY MID DAY ALONG THE MOUNTAINS...MOVING GENERALLY NORTHWARD AT 10-15 MPH. WE HAVE BOOSTED STORM CHANCES UP FOR TODAY...INTO THE 30-50 PCT RANGE FOR MOST AREAS. DRIER LOW-LEVEL AIR IS NOTED ACROSS SOUTHWEST ARIZONA WHICH MAY AFFECT YAVAPAI COUNTY LATER TODAY...SO KEPT POPS IN THE 20-30 PCT RANGE THERE. A FEW ISOLATED STRONGER STORMS ARE POSSIBLE AS THE LOW-LEVEL SHEAR WILL INCREASE WITH THE APPROACH OF THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ON SUNDAY...WITH THE BEST CHANCE SHIFTING TO THE NORTHERN THIRD OF ARIZONA NEAR THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. FOR NEXT WEEK...A DRIER SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL DEVELOP IN ADVANCE OF A CUTOFF LOW WEST OF CALIFORNIA. A WARMING TREND IS EXPECTED...WITH JUST ENOUGH MOISTURE LINGERING FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF HIGH-BASED AFTERNOON STORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS. TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK...THE CUTOFF LOW MAY MOVE CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE STATE TO PRODUCE SOME GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 18Z PACKAGE...THROUGH 03Z SUNDAY BKN-OVC CLOUDS TO RETURN WITH BASES AT OR ABOVE 13 KFT MSL. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP...WITH LOCAL MVFR CONDITIONS LIKELY...PRIMARILY ACROSS COCONINO COUNTY AND THE MOGOLLON RIM. AFTER 03Z SUNDAY PRECIPITATION TO DIMINISH...WITH SCT-BKN CLOUDS AT OR ABOVE 14 KFT MSL REMAINING. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...FOR THE WEEKEND...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER SOUTHWEST ARIZONA THIS MORNING WILL KEEP MOISTURE AND ATMOSPHERIC INSTABILITY OVER THE NORTHLAND...WITH SCATTERED DAYTIME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING AFTER 1000L TODAY. LIGHTNING ACTIVITY LEVELS HAVE BEEN BUMPED TO 4 FOR NEARLY ALL OF COCONINO COUNTY AND THE MOGOLLON RIM FROM LAKE MARY TO THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD EXCEPT NEAR THUNDERSTORMS. MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...A GENERAL REDUCTION IN MOISTURE IS ANTICIPATED...BUT ENOUGH WILL LINGER TO JUSTIFY KEEPING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && PUBLIC.....................TC/JJ AVIATION/FIRE WEATHER......DL VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
132 PM MST SAT MAY 30 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0123 PM HAIL 1 N PRESCOTT 34.59N 112.45W
05/30/2009 M0.88 INCH YAVAPAI AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
TOMCThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The lightning cause Pioneer fire burned over 1,300 acres on the eastern side of the Pinal Mountains about 8 miles south of Globe. Total suppression cost was three million dollars.
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, May 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: 175363.