Wildfire, S Sierra Mtns
- When
- August 1, 12:00 AM PST to August 31, 11:59 PM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- Park/Forest Service
Wildfire in California, August 1 to 31, 2012
The Cascade wildfire occurred in Yosemite NP. The ignition date was 6/15/12 at 1300 PDT.
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 HNX wrote it up.
The Cascade wildfire occurred in Yosemite NP. The ignition date was 6/15/12 at 1300 PDT. The cause was lightning. The location was in Yosemite Valley (Mariposa County). The size was 1115 acres. There were no fatalities and no structures lost. The cost to containment was $75,000.
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 Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 10:00 PM PST, 2 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 10:00 PM PST, 2 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 1100 PM PDT TUE JUL 31 2012 .SYNOPSIS... A STATIONARY EAST WEST ORIENTED HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE REMAINS THE MOST DOMINATE FEATURE OVER THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR. CLEAR SKIES AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS WEEK. && .UPDATE... CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY OVER INYO COUNTY CONTINUES TO MOVE SOUTH IN THE FLOW AROUND THE UPPER-LEVEL VORTICITY NEAR LAS VEGAS. ONE STRIKE NEAR THE INYO/TULARE LINE. CANNOT RULE OUT A CELL DRIFTING INTO THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY OR PROPAGATING WESTWARD TO THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA CREST IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. HAVE UPDATED THE FORECAST TO ADD SLIGHT CHANCE POPS NEAR THE CREST IN TULARE COUNTY...AND TO THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY AND THE DESERT SOUTH OF THE EL PASO RANGE TO RANDSBURG. && .DISCUSSION... TEMPS WERE SEVERAL DEGS WARMER TODAY THAN FCST...SO ISSUED AN UPDATED TEMP FCST FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS...WITH THE UPPER RIDGE SHOWING LITTLE IF ANY CHANGE IN HEIGHTS OR THICKNESS VALUES. A WEAK INVERTED TROF ACROSS THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IS MOVING VERY SLOWLY N-NE WHICH IS KEEPING THE DEEP MONSOON MOISTURE FIELD JUST EAST OF CENTRAL CA. MODELS SHOW LITTLE CHANGE IN THE UPPER AIR PATTERN WHICH KEEPS DEEP MOISTURE TO THE EAST. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 243 PM PDT TUE JUL 31 2012/ A LARGE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED NEAR THE TEXAS PANHANDLE CONTINUES TO INFLUENCE OUR WEATHER...PROVIDING MAINLY CLEAR SKIES WITH TEMPERATURES RUNNING A FEW DEGREES ABOVE CLIMO. MOISTURE ROTATING AROUND THE EDGE OF THE RIDGE...ALONG WITH A WEAK VORTICITY CENTER IS PRODUCING CONVECTION AGAIN TODAY TO THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF KERN COUNTY. MOISTURE HAS HOWEVER DRIFTED A LITTLE FARTHER NORTHWESTWARD TODAY AND THERE ARE SOME DEVELOPING CU DETECTED OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAIN ELEVATIONS AND ALONG THE EASTERN KERN COUNTY BORDER. MODELS STILL KEEP THE MAIN MOISTURE PLUME AND INSTABILITY TO OUR EAST...AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT REMAINS UNLIKELY IN THESE AREAS THIS EVENING. THE RIDGE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK WHILE THE WEAKENING DISTURBANCE DRIFTS SLOWLY NORTH. THIS WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES HOVERING A LITTLE BIT ABOVE CLIMO DURING THE PERIOD. MOISTURE IS STILL PROGGED TO REMAIN EAST OF THE AREA AND POPS REMAIN LESS THAN 15 PERCENT. MODELS SHOW AN ADDITIONAL SHORTWAVE IMPULSE LIFTING NORTHEAST TOWARD THE CALIFORNIA COAST BY THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEKEND. THIS WILL HELP TO PULL MOISTURE FARTHER TO THE WEST AND WILL CREATE A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR MOUNTAIN THUNDERSTORMS BY THE START OF THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL ALSO BRING SOME SLIGHTLY LOWER TEMPERATURES...RUNNING RIGHT AROUND SEASONAL AVERAGES. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED ACROSS THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR THRU 06Z THU. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1 2012... UNHEALTHY IN SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK AND FOREST. UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS IN FRESNO... KERN... KINGS... MADERA... MERCED AND TULARE COUNTIES. FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT VALLEYAIR.ORG && .CERTAINTY... THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS HIGH. THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7 IS MEDIUM. THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED AS PART OF A TRIAL PROJECT CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD. CERTAINTY LEVELS INCLUDE LOW...MEDIUM...AND HIGH. PLEASE VISIT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HNX/CERTAINTY.PHP /ALL LOWER CASE/ FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND/OR TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && PUBLIC...BINGHAM AVN/FW...DS SYNOPSIS...PJ WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Heat in Missouri, August 1 to 31, 2012
- Excessive Heat in Arkansas, August 1 to 4, 2012
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Arkansas, August 1 to 2, 2012
- Drought in Iowa, August 1 to 31, 2012
- Drought in Missouri, August 1 to 31, 2012
- Heat in Arkansas, August 1 to 5, 2012
- Flash Flooding in Utah, August 1, 2012
- Drought in Kansas, August 1 to 31, 2012
- Excessive Heat in Oklahoma, August 1 to 4, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, August 1, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, August 1 to 2, 2012
- Drought in Nebraska, August 1 to 31, 2012
More
Every storm in California in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 2012
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: 410782.