Wildfire in Washington, August 28 to 30, 2009

Name: Wildfire in Washington, August 28 to 30, 2009
Start: 2009-08-28T00:00
End: 2009-08-30T17:00
Location: Washington

August 28 to 30, 2009 · NWS OTX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Concrete Plant Fire, located two miles northeast of Coulee Dam, was a fire of unknown cause that burned 600 acres.

Where it happened

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.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.

The Concrete Plant Fire, located two miles northeast of Coulee Dam, was a fire of unknown cause that burned 600 acres.

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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 27, 9:34 PM PST, 2 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 27, 9:34 PM PST, 2 hours 26 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
1034 PM PDT THU AUG 27 2009

.SYNOPSIS...
A STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL DELIVER HOT AND DRY WEATHER
TO THE INLAND NORTHWEST INTO FRIDAY. IN FACT...HIGHS ON FRIDAY MAY
THREATEN SOME LONG STANDING RECORDS BEFORE A COLD FRONT ARRIVES
FRIDAY NIGHT. THERE WILL BE A GOOD CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS AS WELL ALL WEEKEND. HIGH PRESSURE WILL RETURN
EARLY NEXT WEEK...BRINGING A RETURN OF DRY AND WARMER WEATHER.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
FORECAST LOW TEMPERATURES FOR TONIGHT HAVE BEEN FURTHER INCREASED
FOR DEER PARK WITH MINOR UPWARD ADJUSTMENTS FOR MOSES LAKE AND
SPOKANE. SURFACE OBSERVATIONS SHOW A THERMAL TROUGH EXTENDING
FROM SOUTHEAST OREGON NORTH TO THE NORTH WASHINGTON CASCADES.
MEANWHILE...A SURFACE HIGH OF 1025MB OVER NW MONTANA IS RESULTING
IN A PRESSURE GRADIENT OF NEAR 10MB BETWEEN THE SFC HIGH IN NW
MONTANA AND THE THERMAL TROUGH OVER THE CASCADES. 00Z GFS AND NAM
MODEL MAINTAIN THIS GRADIENT OVERNIGHT WHICH WILL KEEP WINDS
PERSISTING DOWN THE PURCELL TRENCH INTO COEUR DALENE. PREVIOUS
EXPERIENCE HAS ALSO SHOWN THAT THIS TYPE AND STRENGTH OF A
GRADIENT KEEPS DEER PARK FROM DECOUPLING...SO LOW TEMPERATURES
WERE WARMED HERE SIGNIFICANTLY. 00Z GUIDANCE IS PERFORMING
DOWNRIGHT AWFUL AT DEER PARK...WITH A PROJECTED TEMPERATURE AT
06Z IN THE UPPER 50S. AT 05Z THE TEMPERATURE WAS 75F. ELSEWHERE
SOME ADJUSTMENT TO TEMPERATURES WERE MADE FOR MOSES LAKE AND
SPOKANE BASED ON CURRENT TRENDS.

FOR FRIDAY...THE NAM MODEL SHOWS THE THERMAL TROUGH EXTENDING FROM
PULLMAN TO OMAK IN THE AFTERNOON...RESULTING IN A VERY
DRY...HOT...AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS UNDER THE THERMAL TROUGH. THIS
WILL LEAD TO A LARGER CHANCE OF RAPID FIRE GROWTH OVER THE EASTERN
THIRD OF WASHINGTON AND N IDAHO WHERE RED FLAG WARNINGS HAVE BEEN
POSTED. FOR NOW THE OKANOGAN VALLEY AND HIGHLANDS HAVE BEEN
EXCLUDED FROM THE WARNING AS FUELS MAY MOISTEN UP MORE ON SATURDAY
AS A CLOSED LOW MOVES TOWARDS THE CENTRAL WASHINGTON CASCADES
PLACING THE OKANOGAN VALLEY AND HIGHLANDS IN A FAVORED AREA FOR
SEEING A GREATER COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. WILL LET
MID SHIFT TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT CURRENT RED FLAG WARNINGS AND IF
ANY ADJUSTMENTS ARE NEEDED.  JW

&&

.AVIATION...
MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE AHEAD OF A LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM ON SATURDAY. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS AFT 00Z NEAR THE CASCADES...WITH THE BETTER
CHANCE HOLDING OFF TIL AFT 06Z SAT. E-NE WINDS OF 5-15KTS WILL BE
COMMON AT TAF SITES TIL 00Z SAT...THEN WESTERLY WINDS WILL
INCREASE NEAR THE CASCADES AS WELL AS OVER THE PALOUSE.  JW

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SPOKANE        63  97  65  76  58  81 /   0   0  20  40  40  40
COEUR DALENE  57  96  63  76  58  80 /   0   0  20  40  50  40
PULLMAN        59  99  57  75  52  77 /   0   0  20  40  50  60
LEWISTON       63 103  68  81  54  78 /   0   0  20  40  50  60
COLVILLE       51 101  62  84  58  86 /   0   0  10  40  40  20
SANDPOINT      52  93  59  80  52  82 /   0   0  10  20  50  20
KELLOGG        56  94  59  74  58  78 /   0   0  10  30  60  50
MOSES LAKE     59  97  62  77  57  85 /   0   0  30  50  50  20
WENATCHEE      63  95  65  77  59  87 /   0  10  40  50  40  20
OMAK           52  99  63  82  59  91 /   0  10  30  50  40  10

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...RED FLAG WARNING FROM 8 AM TO 8 PM PDT FRIDAY FOR CENTRAL
     PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS...COEUR DALENE AREA...IDAHO PALOUSE...
     NORTHERN PANHANDLE.

WA...RED FLAG WARNING FROM 8 AM TO 8 PM PDT FRIDAY FOR NORTHEAST
     MOUNTAINS...SPOKANE AREA...UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN...
     WASHINGTON PALOUSE.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 27, 2:43 PM PST, 9 hours 17 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
343 PM PDT THU AUG 27 2009

IDZ001>004-WAZ033-035>037-282245-
NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR DALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE-
CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-WASHINGTON PALOUSE-
UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-SPOKANE AREA-NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-
343 PM PDT THU AUG 27 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH IDAHO...
EAST CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND SOUTHEAST
WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR FRIDAY AS HOT AND DRY
CONDITIONS PRODUCE A VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS. THIS TYPICALLY
RESULTS IN EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR FOR FIRES.

PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING PRODUCTS FOR MORE INFORMATION.
   SEARFWOTX /WWUS86 KOTX/
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB AT WEATHER.GOV.

IDZ026-027-WAZ031-032-034-038-041>044-282245-
LEWISTON AREA-LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-
NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS-LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES-
MOSES LAKE AREA-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-WENATCHEE AREA-
EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU-
343 PM PDT THU AUG 27 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL
IDAHO...CENTRAL WASHINGTON...EAST CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTH
CENTRAL WASHINGTON AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Upper Columbia Basin

When: August 28, 12:00 AM PST to August 30, 5:00 PM PST
Where: Upper Columbia Basin forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 47.610, -119.173 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Washington in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, August 2009

Sources

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: 194357.