California, 2009Wildfire in California, May 12, 2009
May 12, 2009 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone
A small fire fueled by gusty winds destroyed a shed and an abandoned house in Otay Mesa.
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- 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.
A small fire fueled by gusty winds destroyed a shed and an abandoned house in Otay Mesa.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 12, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 12, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
930 AM PDT TUE MAY 12 2009
.SYNOPSIS...THE MARINE LAYER AND ONSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE LOW
CLOUDS AND FOG WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS DURING THE NIGHTS AND
MORNINGS...BECOMING LESS EXTENSIVE BY LATE THIS WEEK. LOCAL GUSTY
WINDS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
OTHERWISE...FAIR WITH DRY NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. HOT INLAND EARLY
NEXT WEEK UNDER STRONG HIGH PRESSURE.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA INCLUDING SAN DIEGO...
ORANGE...SOUTHWEST SAN BERNARDINO AND WEST RIVERSIDE COUNTIES.
.SHORT TERM (TODAY-FRIDAY)...LOW CLOUDS AND LOCAL FOG WERE INTO THE
COASTAL AND VALLEY AREAS THIS MORNING. CLEAR ELSEWHERE. THE 12Z NKX
SOUNDING HAD AN INVERSION BASED NEAR 2700 FT WITH WLY WINDS ALOFT.
ONSHORE GRADIENTS WITH ABOUT 7 MB SAN-IPL.
FLAT TO WEAKLY CYCLONIC W TO NW FLOW ALOFT THROUGH FRIDAY. THE
STRONG ONSHORE GRADIENTS TODAY WILL SLOWLY WEAKEN INTO THE END OF
THE WEEK. THIS WILL RESULT IN LOCAL STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN THE
MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS INTO TONIGHT. WEAKER BREEZY CONDITIONS DURING
THE AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THE MARINE
LAYER DEPTH WILL SLOWLY DECREASE. LOW CLOUDS AND FOG WILL GET INTO
MOST COASTAL AND VALLEY AREAS TONIGHT BUT SHOULD BE CONFINED TO THE
COASTAL AND FAR WRN VALLEYS BY THURSDAY NIGHT. THE WEAKENING ONSHORE
FLOW WILL RESULT IN SLIGHT WARMING IN MOST AREAS.
&&
.LONG TERM (SATURDAY-TUESDAY)...STRONG UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE IN
THE ERN PAC WILL MOVE OVER THE WRN STATES SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY.
ONSHORE GRADIENTS WILL DECREASE AND TURN WEAKLY OFFSHORE BY EARLY
NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL RESULT IN A SHALLOWER MARINE LAYER AND WARMING
TREND. HOT INLAND EARLY NEXT WEEK AND THE WARMER INLAND VALLEYS
COULD GET NEAR 100 DEGREES. THERMALS AND LIMITED MID LEVEL MOISTURE
MAY RESULT IN AFTERNOON CU OVER THE MOUNTAINS. THE HOT AND DRY
WEATHER EARLY NEXT WEEK ALONG WITH LOCAL ELY BREEZES WILL ELEVATE
THE FIRE WEATHER HAZARD IN THE MOUNTAINS. A LITTLE COOLER TUESDAY AS
THE HIGH BREAKS DOWN.
&&
.AVIATION...
121400Z...MARINE LAYER DEPTH THIS MORNING WAS AROUND 2500 FEET. SOME
LOWERING IS EXPECTED TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY TO AROUND 2000 FEET.
STRATUS WITH BASES AROUND 2000 FEET MSL SHOULD BREAK UP OVER THE
INLAND AREAS BETWEEN 16Z AND 17Z AND TO NEAR THE COAST BETWEEN 17Z
AND 19Z. LITTLE OR NO BREAK UP IS EXPECTED ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST
TODAY. STRATUS SHOULD PUSH BACK INLAND AFTER SUNSET WITH INLAND
VALLEY AND MESA AIRPORTS GETTING CEILINGS BETWEEN 03Z AND 07Z...AND
REACH KONT BY 10Z. A LITTLE EARLIER BREAKUP IS EXPECTED ON
WEDNESDAY.
ABOVE THE MARINE LAYER...A MOSTLY CLEAR SKY WITH UNRESTRICTED
VISIBILITIES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. HORTON
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE
&&
PUBLIC...ATKIN
AVIATION...HORTON
Wildfire, San Diego County Coastal Areas
- When
- May 12, 11:45 AM PST to 12:45 PM PST
- Where
- San Diego County Coastal Areas forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A four acre fire began around 1145 PST in Otay Mesa along Airway Road near Caliente Avenue. The fire spread through light grass and into a pile of tires. A shed and an abandoned house were destroyed by the blaze. The fire was contained by about 1245 PST. No injuries were reported.
- 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.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 12 to 13, 2009$3.5 million · 1.25 in hail · 17 events
- Flood in Alaska, May 12 to 14, 2009$5.9 million · 1 event
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Arkansas, May 12 to 16, 2009$351,000 · 1.75 in hail · 29 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, May 12, 2009$100,000 · EF1 · 14 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in Florida, May 12 to 13, 2009$277,000 · EF0 · 6 events
- Wildfire and Hail in Texas, May 12, 2009$72,000 · 1.75 in hail · 13 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, May 12 to 13, 2009$42,000 · 1 in hail · 21 events
- High Wind in Idaho, May 12, 2009$65,000 · 52 kt wind · 3 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, May 12, 2009$49,000 · 61 kt wind · 5 events
- Lightning Strike in Illinois, May 12, 2009$45,000 · 1 event
- Flooding and Hail in Kansas, May 12, 2009$2,000 · 1 in hail · 22 events
- Hail in Oklahoma, May 12, 20092 in hail · 17 events
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: 173054.