The Knight Fire burned an area of forest along the Middle Fork of the American River. The fire started on July 26th and was 100 percent contained by August 11th.
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 STO wrote it up.
The Knight Fire burned an area of forest along the Middle Fork of the American River. The fire started on July 26th and was 100 percent contained by August 11th.
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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 8:50 PM PST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 950 PM PDT FRI JUL 31 2009 .DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY CONTINUES TO SHOW A CUT OFF LOW OVER THE PACIFIC...NEARING 35 NORTH AND 130 WEST THIS EVENING. THIS LOW WILL BE THE DOMINATE WEATHER FEATURE FOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...AS IT DRIFTS IN AND AROUND 130 WEST THROUGH AT LEAST TUESDAY. MODELS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE AND DEVIATE AFTER THAT. IN THE MEANTIME...THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW IS TRANSITIONING TO MORE SOUTHERLY AND SOUTHEASTERLY OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. THIS ALLOWED A COUPLE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS JUST SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 50 TO SNEAK WEST OF THE SIERRA CREST EARLIER THIS EVENING. THEY HAVE SINCE DISSIPATED. HOWEVER...RESIDUAL MOISTURE FROM THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY EAST OF THE CREST IS STARTING TO SPREAD WEST OF THE SIERRA...AND WILL MOVE OFF TO THE NORTHWEST OVERNIGHT TONIGHT. THEREFORE...HAVE UPDATED THE FORECAST THIS EVENING TO REFLECT THESE TRENDS. TEMPERATURES THIS EVENING ARE FOR THE MOST PART RUNNING A FEW DEGREES WARMER THAN THIS TIME LAST NIGHT. THIS IS IN PART DUE TO A SLIGHTLY WEAKER ONSHORE GRADIENT AND SUPPRESSED MARINE LAYER. THE FORT ORD PROFILER IS SHOWING THE MARINE LAYER AROUND 1400 FEET...BUT DO NOT EXPECT MUCH DIFFERENCE IN TEMPERATURES TONIGHT. NOT EXPECTING MUCH CHANGE IN THE FORECAST TOMORROW AS COMPARED TO TODAY...AS 850 TEMPERATURES ARE EITHER SHOWING THE SAME OR A DEGREE OR SO COOLER. THE ONLY MAIN DIFFERENCE MAY BE WITH THE THUNDERSTORM THREAT. AT THIS TIME...OUR FORECAST IS ONLY FEATURING THIS POTENTIAL OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. MODELS ARE ALSO CONTINUING TO SHOW THE BEST INSTABILITY NORTH AND EAST OF OUR WARNING AREA. HOWEVER WITH THE FLOW TURNING MORE SOUTHERLY AND SOUTHEASTERLY...THERE MAY BE THE POTENTIAL FOR MORE OF THESE STORMS TO DRIFT WEST OF THE SIERRA CREST. STILL WANT TO LOOK AT A LITTLE MORE BEFORE ADDING THEM TO THE FORECAST THIS EVENING. PALMER && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO PREVAIL OVER THE NORTHERN INTERIOR THROUGH THE NEXT 24 HOURS. LOCALLY GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND THE DELTA REGION WILL CONTINUE...WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 KTS POSSIBLE. CUMULUS BUILD UPS WILL ONCE AGAIN BE POSSIBLE OVER THE NORTHERN SIERRA AND SOUTHERN CASCADES TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND EVENING. && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 600 AM PDT FRI JUL 31 2009 CAZ013>019-063-064-066>069-011400- SHASTA LAKE AREA/NORTHERN SHASTA COUNTY- BURNEY BASIN/EASTERN SHASTA COUNTY-NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY- CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY-SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY- CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA-NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MOUNTAINS SOUTHWESTERN SHASTA TO NORTHERN LAKE COUNTIES- CLEAR LAKE/SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY-MOTHERLODE- EAST FOOTHILLS/NORTH SACRAMENTO VALLEY- WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK-WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA- 600 AM PDT FRI JUL 31 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ISOLATED AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH SUNDAY...OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT (LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/STO
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
There were 6130 acres of forest burned in rugged terrain along the Middle Fork of the American River. Local forest service roads were closed due to the fire, as were several campgrounds.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 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: 191846.