Wildfire in Arizona, June 20 to 30, 2010

Name: Wildfire in Arizona, June 20 to 30, 2010
Start: 2010-06-20T11:00
End: 2010-06-30T23:00
Location: Arizona

June 20 to 30, 2010 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Schultz Fire started on June 20th as a result of an abandoned campfire. about 10 miles north-northeast of the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport.

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: $10 million
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 Schultz Fire started on June 20th as a result of an abandoned campfire. The fire started just east of Schultz Tank...about 10 miles north-northeast of the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport. Strong winds driven by local topography pushed the fire to the northeast. The fire grew to 15,075 acres. Most of the residences west of Highway 89 were evacuated. No homes or buildings were damaged in the fire. The fire was contained by midnight on June 30th. Some smoke was still seen in the interior of the fire for close to 3 weeks after containment. About 5000 acres within the fire area were in the high severity category of burning which lead to frequent flooding down hill and downstream once the rainy season started in mid July.

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 20, 9:09 AM MST, 1 hour 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 20, 9:09 AM MST, 1 hour 51 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
909 AM MST SUN JUN 20 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 THE END OF THE WEEK...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 TEMPERATURES AND
BREEZY AFTERNOON SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30
MPH. 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...HOWEVER ANY STORMS THAT
DEVELOP WILL ONLY HAVE MINIMAL PRECIPITATION DUE TO THE DRY BOUNDARY
LAYER.

&&

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...// 320 AM //...NORTHERN ARIZONA WILL REMAIN
BETWEEN A LONG-WAVE TROUGH OFF THE WEST COAST AND RIDGE OVER THE
CENTRAL UNITED STATES THROUGH MONDAY. THIS PATTERN WILL BRING MOSTLY
CLEAR SKIES...WARM TEMPERATURES WITH LOW HUMIDITY...AND DAYTIME
SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS IN THE 15-25 MPH RANGE.

TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW THAT THE RIDGE
CURRENTLY OVER THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES WILL BEGIN TO BUILD
WESTWARD AS THE WEST COAST TROUGH WEAKENS. THIS WILL BRING LIGHTER
WINDS AND ABOVE NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES DURING THIS TIME FRAME. IN
ADDITION...MODELS ALSO INDICATE A SLIGHT INCREASE IN MID-LEVEL
MOISTURE OVER EASTERN ARIZONA...AS MOISTURE IS PULLED AROUND THE
WESTERN PERIPHERY OF THE UPPER RIDGE. WHILE THE LATEST GUIDANCE
KEEPS THE BULK OF THE MOISTURE IN NEW MEXICO...GIVEN THE INCREASING
MOISTURE AND A SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE...A SLIGHT CHANCE
OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN IN THE FORECAST FOR THE MOUNTAINS
GENERALLY EAST OF A LINE FROM PAYSON TO WINSLOW...TO CHINLE. ANY
STORMS THAT ARE ABLE TO DEVELOP ARE NOT EXPECTED TO PRODUCE MUCH
RAINFALL DUE TO THE RELATIVELY DRY BOUNDARY LAYER.

&&

AVIATION...FOR THE 18Z PACKAGE...EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS WITH CLEAR
SKIES THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. LOOK FOR SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 15-20
KTS WITH GUSTS TO 30 KTS THROUGH 02Z MONDAY. WINDS WILL DECREASE TO
LESS THAN 6 KTS BY 04Z. DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. &&

.FIRE WEATHER...VERY DRY AND BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED
AGAIN TODAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL START TO BUILD OVER THE STATE ON
MONDAY WITH LESS WIND AND WARMER TEMPERATURES.

TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN WITH A SLOW
WARMING TREND. SURFACE CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN VERY DRY. SOME MID
LEVEL MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL PRODUCE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS IN APACHE AND NAVAJO COUNTIES ON WEDNESDAY
AND THURSDAY. THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LITTLE IF ANY RAIN...WITH
STRONG GUSTY WINDS.

&&

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

&&

PUBLIC..................JJ
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 20, 11:00 AM MST to June 30, 11:00 PM MST
Where: Western Mogollon Rim forecast zone
Property damage: $10 million
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Schultz Fire was started by an abandon campfire. Wind enhanced by topography and steep slopes on the eastern side of the San Francisco Peaks (also known as Kachina Peaks) greatly enhanced the spread and severity of the fire. Highway 89 was closed because of the fire. A Type I Incident Management Team was called to organize fire fighting efforts. Close to one thousand people were called out to fight this fire. Fire fighting equipment included 8 air tankers, 7 helicopters, 62 fire engines, and 13 water tenders. Firefighting efforts alone cost around $10 million dollars. No homes or buildings were damaged by fire. However, flooding and debris flows that resulted from the fire damaged landscape caused damage to close to 100 properties and homes once the rainy season started in July and lasted through August.

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 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: 238351.