Name: Wildfire in Arizona, June 19 to 22, 2010
Start: 2010-06-19T12:00
End: 2010-06-22T18:00
Location: Arizona

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 FGZ wrote it up.

The Hardy Fire was human caused on June 19th. At around noon high winds fanned the fire to life. The fire burned about 282 acres on the southern edge of Flagstaff.

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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 19, 9:30 AM MST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 19, 9:30 AM MST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
930 AM MST SAT JUN 19 2010

.SYNOPSIS...SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WITH
DRY CONDITIONS...NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES...AND BREEZY AFTERNOON
WINDS THROUGH TUESDAY. WARMER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY
THROUGH FRIDAY...WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN EASTERN
ARIZONA.

&&

.DISCUSSION...NORTHERN ARIZONA WILL REMAIN BETWEEN A LONG-WAVE
TROUGH ALONG THE WEST COAST AND HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTH-CENTRAL
UNITED STATES THROUGH MONDAY...BRINGING NEAR NORMAL MAXIMUM
TEMPERATURES AND BREEZY AFTERNOON WINDS. STARTING ON TUESDAY HIGH
PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTH-CENTRAL UNITED STATES WILL BUILD WESTWARD
INCREASING OUR AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES. IN ADDITION...A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS IS POSSIBLE OVER
EASTERN ARIZONA WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AS MOISTURE IS PULLED
AROUND THE WESTERN PERIPHERY OF THE UPPER RIDGE OVER THE CENTRAL
UNITED STATES.

&&

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...// 323 AM //...NORTHERN ARIZONA WILL BE
LOCATED BETWEEN A LONG-WAVE TROUGH ALONG THE WEST COAST AND HIGH
PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTH-CENTRAL UNITED STATES THROUGH MONDAY. THIS
PATTERN WILL BRING MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES...WARM TEMPERATURES...AND
INCREASING DAYTIME SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS IN THE 15-25 MPH RANGE.

TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...LATEST MODEL DATA CONTINUES TO SHOW THAT
THE SUBTROPICAL HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM CURRENTLY OVER THE
SOUTH-CENTRAL UNITED STATES WILL BEGIN TO BUILD WESTWARD. THIS WILL
BRING LIGHTER WINDS AND WARMER THAN NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES DURING
THIS TIME FRAME. A SLIGHT INCREASE IN MOISTURE OVER EASTERN ARIZONA
IS ALSO POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AS MOISTURE IS PULLED
AROUND THE WESTERN PERIPHERY OF THE UPPER RIDGE. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN IN THE FORECAST FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF
EASTERN ARIZONA...GENERALLY EAST OF A LINE FROM PAYSON TO
WINSLOW...TO CHINLE.

&&

AVIATION...FOR THE 18Z PACKAGE...EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS FOR THE NEXT
24 HOURS. EXPECT SOUTHWEST 18-25KT WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 35KT
THROUGH 01Z SUNDAY. THE WINDS WILL DECREASE TO 8 TO 18 KTS BY 02Z
AND THEN BECOME VARIABLE LESS THAN 6 KTS BY 05Z. DISCUSSION NOT
UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...VERY DRY CONDITIONS AND INCREASING WINDS ARE
EXPECTED TODAY. CONDITIONS WILL APPROACH BORDERLINE RED FLAG
CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON MAINLY NORTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM PAGE
TO WILLIAMS TO SELIGMAN... WITH SUSTAINED WINDS JUST UNDER 20 MPH
AND GUSTS TO 35 MPH. SIMILAR WIND SPEEDS ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY.

MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN WITH A SLOW
WARMING TREND. CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN VERY DRY. HAINES INDICES WILL
RUN HIGH FROM THE MOGOLLON RIM NORTHWARD AND MODERATE SOUTH OF THE
RIM. SOME MID LEVEL MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL PRODUCE A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS IN APACHE AND NAVAJO COUNTIES ON
WEDNESDAY. SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LITTLE IF ANY RAIN.

&&

.FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

PUBLIC..................JVC
AVIATION/FIRE WEATHER...MAS

VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER
INFORMATION.

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, Western Mogollon Rim

When: June 19, 12:00 PM MST to June 22, 6:00 PM MST
Where: Western Mogollon Rim forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Hardy Fire started when a transient dumped ashes from a cooking fire onto the ground. Strong winds pushed the fire toward the southern edge of Flagstaff and prompted the evacuation of homes, businesses, hotels, and an animal shelter in the area. At least 120 personnel were assigned to the fire with at least two heavy air tankers and three heavy lift helicopters.

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

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, June 2010

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: 238347.