The Williams Creek fire in the Umpqua National Forest started on 7/28/09 around 1 PM PDT. The cause is under investigation.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 MFR wrote it up.
The Williams Creek fire in the Umpqua National Forest started on 7/28/09 around 1 PM PDT. The cause is under investigation. As of 08/01/09, the fire was at 2,384 acres and 20 percent contained. The cost of the fire to that point was 905,000 dollars. Estimated containment date was 08/07/09.
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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 28, 8:03 AM PST, 4 hours 57 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
903 AM PDT TUE JUL 28 2009
.DISCUSSION...FORECAST THIS MORNING LOOKS ON TRACK...SO NO CHANGES
ARE PLANNED. TEMPERATURE AT KMFR THIS MORNING ONLY REACHED 70
DEGREES, WHICH TIED THE RECORD SET IN 1996 FOR THE HIGHEST MINIMUM
TEMPERATURE FOR THE DATE. SO, WERE ALREADY STARTING OFF SEVERAL
DEGREES HIGHER THAN YESTERDAY. WHAT THIS MEANS IS HIGH TEMPERATURES
OF 105 TO 110 OVER THE ROGUE VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON.
MORNING SOUNDINGS SHOW SOME INSTABILITY AND ALSO SOME MOISTURE IN
THE MID-LEVELS, ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHERN SISKIYOU COUNTY. THIS IS
IN RESPONSE TO A WEST-EAST DEFORMATION THAT EXTENDS FROM JUST
OFFSHORE INTO NORTHERN NEVADA. THIS WILL LIKELY CAUSE A FEW BUILD-
UPS DOWN THERE THIS AFTERNOON, MAINLY OVER ELEVATED TERRAIN, BUT
NOT QUITE CONVINCED ANY WILL BREAK THROUGH, SO WILL LEAVE AS IS.
THERE IS A BETTER CHANCE IN THOSE AREAS TOMORROW.
&&
.AVIATION...AREAS OF IFR CIGS RIGHT ALONG THE COAST WILL THIN TO
VFR...OTHERWISE VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE CWA
THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. IFR CIGS WILL RETURN ALONG THE COAST AFTER
03Z.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 323 AM PDT TUE JUL 28 2009/
DISCUSSION...THE MAIN CHANGE APPLIED TO THE FORECAST FOR THIS
CYCLE INCLUDES NUDGING UP THE HIGH TEMPERATURES FOR SOME AREAS
TODAY AND WEDNESDAY. OTHERWISE...THE FORECAST REMAINS LARGELY
THE SAME AS THE PREVIOUS PACKAGE.
WERE LIKELY GOING TO BREAK SOME RECORD HIGHS TODAY...MOST
NOTABLY BEING MEDFORD WHERE THE PREVIOUS RECORD HIGH FOR TODAY
WAS 105 SET IN 1960...THEN TIED IN 1978...1998...AND 2003. WERE
LOOKING FOR 107 TODAY AT THE ROGUE VALLEY AIRPORT.
HIGH TEMPERATURES MONDAY ACROSS THE WESTERN VALLEYS RANGED FROM
AROUND 104 IN THE UMPQUA...TO BETWEEN 104 AND 108 IN THE ROGUE AND
ILLINOIS VALLEYS...TO AS HIGH AS 113 IN WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY
ALONG THE LOWER KLAMATH RIVER VALLEY. FORECAST SOUNDING DATA IS
SHOWING A 2-3 DEGREE WARMUP FOR TODAY. ALBEIT SUBTLE...WEVE ADDED
A COUPLE DEGREES TO THE FORECAST HIGHS FOR TODAY MAINLY ACROSS THE
WEST. THIS INCLUDES WARMING UP THE RIDGES WHERE THE COASTAL
MOUNTAINS WERE CONSIDERABLY HOTTER THAN THE BEACHES MONDAY...97 AT
RED MOUND RAWS AND ONLY 64 AT BROOKINGS. WITH LITTLE CHANGE SEEN
IN THE MEAN SEA LEVEL PRESSURE PATTERN...WEVE CONTINUED THIS
RELATIONSHIP TODAY. WEDNESDAY LOOKS PERHAPS JUST A HAIR COOLER
WEST AND SIMILAR EAST.
THE WATER VAPOR EARLY THIS MORNING REVEALS A BROAD WEST TO EAST
DEFORMATION REGION EXTENDING FROM OFF THE SOUTH COAST THROUGH
NORTHERN NEVADA...BASICALLY A SHEAR AXIS BETWEEN THE NORTHERLY
FLOW DOWN THE FRONT OF THE UPPER RIDGE AND THE WEAK SOUTHERLY
FLOW TO OUR SOUTH. AS THE UPPER RIDGE AXIS OFFSHORE PROGRESSES
INLAND THROUGH WEDNESDAY...THIS REGION MAY BE THE FOCUS OF SOME
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT AS THE MODELS SHOW SOME WEAK INSTABILITY.
ALSO...THE NAM...GFS...AND MM5 GFS-WRF MODELS ALL SHOW SOME PRECIP
BEING GENERATED.
THE SLIGHT CHANCE FOR MAINLY THE SAME AREAS WAS LEFT IN TACT FOR
THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS WELL. THE UPPER RIDGE WILL BE
BUILDING IN ACROSS THE REGION AS AN OFFSHORE LOW NEARS. THERE IS
STILL SOME INSTABILITY AND AVAILABLE MOISTURE INDICATED...BUT JUST
HOW MUCH FORCING COMES IN IS QUESTIONABLE.
THE GFS AND EUROPEAN ARE COMING MORE IN LINE WITH THE ADVERTISED
PATTERN FOR FRIDAY THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND...KEEPING THE UPPER LOW
OFFSHORE AND SOUTH OF 40N. THIS STILL LOOKS FAVORABLE FOR
AND INCREASING THUNDERSTORM THREAT. STAVISH
AVIATION...AREAS OF IFR CONDITIONS AT THE COAST WILL THIN OUT TO
MAINLY VFR THROUGH 18Z. VFR INLAND. IFR CIGS AND LCL FOG RETURN
AND EXPAND AT THE COAST AFTER 03Z TONIGHT.
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...NONE.
CA...NONE.
PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS
UNTIL 5 AM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR PZZ350-PZZ356-PZZ370-PZZ376.
SPILDEThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
As of 08/01/09, the fire was at 2384 acres and 20 percent contained. The cost of the fire was 905,000 dollars.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, 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: 177756.