The Cottonwood Fire began four miles East of Hemet on August 27th at approximately 5:13 PM PDT. The fire spread East along California Highway 74 towards Idyllwild in the San Bernardino National Forest.
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 SGX wrote it up.
The Cottonwood Fire began four miles East of Hemet on August 27th at approximately 5:13 PM PDT. The fire spread East along California Highway 74 towards Idyllwild in the San Bernardino National Forest. The fire burned 2,409 acres before being contained on August 31st. No structures were damaged, and five firefighters sustained heat related injuries. The cause of the fire may have been due to a power pole, but is still under investigation.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 27, 1:00 PM PST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 200 PM PDT THU AUG 27 2009 .SYNOPSIS... STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING HOT AND DRY WEATHER THROUGH FRIDAY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES APPROACHING RECORD LEVELS. THE HIGH PRESSURE SLOWLY WEAKENS OVER THE WEEKEND...SO THERE WILL BE A GRADUAL COOLING TREND. EARLY NEXT WEEK PATCHES OF COASTAL CLOUDS WILL RETURN DURING THE NIGHTS AND MORNINGS. HIGH PRESSURE STRENGTHENS AGAIN THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK FOR MORE HOT WEATHER. && .DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES... A LITTLE OFFSHORE PUSH LATE THIS MORNING CRANKED UP THE TEMPERATURES ESPECIALLY NEAR THE COAST IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY. THE SEA BREEZE HAS STABILIZED THIS AREA FOR NOW...BUT ONLY AFTER SOME MESAS GOT UP TO 100 DEGREES. EXPECT SEVERAL HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS TO FALL WHEN THE NUMBERS COME IN THIS AFTERNOON. THE HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT REACHES ITS PEAK STRENGTH OVER THE WEST TODAY AND FRIDAY. BUT THANKS TO THE LOW HUMIDITY WE SHOULD SURVIVE THIS HEAT WAVE FAIRLY WELL. THE DRY AIR ALLOWS THE HUMAN BODY TO COOL EFFICIENTLY AND THE NIGHTS COOL DOWN FOR THOSE AREAS WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING. ON SATURDAY A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHWEST PUTS A DENT IN THE MONSTER RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE. THAT WILL START A COOLING TREND THAT WILL BE FELT MOST NEAR THE COAST AND LESS THE FARTHER INLAND YOU GO. SOME WEAK LOW PRESSURE ALONG THE WEST COAST WILL CONTINUE THE THE SLIGHTLY COOLER WEATHER THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY. PATCHY FOG AT THE COAST COULD MOVE BACK INTO THE PICTURE AS EARLY AS SATURDAY NIGHT. AND WE EXPECT SOME LOW CLOUDS NEAR THE COAST EACH NIGHT AND MORNING THEREAFTER. EXTENDED MODELS SHOW THE RIDGE EXPANDING AGAIN NEXT TUESDAY SO WE WILL GET REAL WARM AGAIN TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THERE IS A HINT OF MONSOON MOISTURE FLOWING UP FROM THE SOUTH DURING THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK...BUT NOT ENOUGH TO WARRANT ANY CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE FORECAST. THE MODELS ALSO SHOW A RATHER DEEP TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING INTO THE WEST COAST NEXT FRIDAY WHICH WOULD REPRESENT A DRAMATIC COOLING TREND IF IT HAPPENS. THAT IS STILL A LONG SHOT AT THIS POINT. && .AVIATION... 271930Z...MARINE LAYER IS NEAR SEA LEVEL AND LITTLE OR NO CHANGE IS EXPECTED THROUGH FRIDAY. EXCEPT FOR SOME CIRRUS AT OR ABOVE FL250...A MOSTLY CLEAR SKY WITH UNRESTRICTED VISIBILITIES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY. MAX TEMPS FOR FRIDAY...KSAN 32C...KSNA 35C...KONT 41C... AND KPSP/KTRM 45C. HORTON && .SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR THE HOT WEATHER...SEE LAXSPSSGX. && PUBLIC...MM AVIATION...HORTON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 345 PM PDT THU AUG 27 2009 CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-281200- ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE-SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS-COACHELLA VALLEY-SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS- 345 PM PDT THU AUG 27 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ALL OF EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. HOT THROUGH THE EVENING...THEN COOLING OFF AFTER SUNSET. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. VERY HOT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. AVOID HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE BY AVOIDING STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES DURING THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY. SEE LAXSPSSGX FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY. MOEDE
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 504 PM PDT THU AUG 27 2009 CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-281800- ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS- SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE- SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS- SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS- COACHELLA VALLEY-SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS- 504 PM PDT THU AUG 27 2009 ...MORE SCORCHING HEAT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY... NEARLY STATIONARY HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN STATES WILL BRING TWO MORE DAYS OF BLISTERING HOT WEATHER FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. TRIPLE DIGIT HIGHS ARE AGAIN FORECAST FOR THE VALLEYS...FOOTHILLS AND DESERTS. BEST RELIEF FROM THE HEAT WILL BE NEAR THE COAST WHERE BEACH HIGHS WILL BE IN THE 80S. HOWEVER...HIGHS JUST INLAND FROM THE BEACHES WILL BE IN THE 90S...AND SEVERAL MILES INLAND THE HIGHS WILL CLIMB ABOVE 100. IN THE INLAND VALLEYS THE HIGHS RANGE FROM 105 TO 112. IN THE UPPER DESERTS THE HIGHS WILL BE FROM 95 TO 105...AND IN THE LOWER DESERTS THE HIGHS WILL BE FROM 110 TO 117. HIGHS IN THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 6000 FEET WILL MOSTLY BE IN THE 80S. MINOR COOLING IS FORECAST SUNDAY AND MONDAY AS THE HIGH WEAKENS AND A SHALLOW MARINE LAYER RETURNS TO THE COASTAL AREAS. HOWEVER...EVEN WITH THE COOLING...HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN ABOVE AVERAGES. BECAUSE THE ATMOSPHERE IS QUITE DRY...MANY AREAS WILL COOL OFF FAIRLY QUICKLY AFTER SUNSET. AVOID HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEATSTROKE BY AVOIDING STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES DURING THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY. WEAR LIGHT-COLORED AND LOOSE-FITTING CLOTHING AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. NEVER LEAVE PEOPLE OR PETS IN ENCLOSED AUTOMOBILES...EVEN FOR A SHORT TIME. MOEDE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
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: 194621, 194622.