The Butte wildfire started on 08/14/12 and was not contained by the end of August.
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 Butte wildfire started on 08/14/12 and was not contained by the end of August.
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 Aug 14, 2:04 PM PST, 56 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
304 PM PDT TUE AUG 14 2012
.SHORT TERM...A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE IS OVER THE AREA WITH A
SHORTWAVE TROUGH TO THE NORTH AND A CLOSED LOW OFF THE CALIFORNIA
COAST. THIS RIDGE WILL BRING VERY HOT TEMPERATURES TO THE AREA
THROUGH FRIDAY. THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH TO THE NORTH WILL SHIFT EAST
TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AND THE CLOSED LOW WILL REMAIN OFF THE
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST THROUGH FRIDAY. THIS LOW
WILL BRING SOUTHERLY MOISTURE INTO THE AREA TODAY AND TOMORROW
WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS FOR SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF
THE AREA. THE SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY CONTINUES
INTO THURSDAY THEN INCREASES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ACROSS ALL INLAND
AREAS AS MOISTURE FOR THE REMAINS OF TROPICAL CYCLONE HECTOR MOVE
NORTH INTO THE AREA.
TODAY...SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS MOISTURE MOVING UP FROM THE SOUTH
AROUND THE CUT OFF LOW. THIS IS EXPECTED TO BRING A SLIGHT CHANCE
FOR THUNDERSTORMS INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA THIS AFTERNOON EVENING.
CUMULUS CLOUDS ARE BUILDING JUST TO THE SOUTH AND HAVE PUSHED
INTO MODOC COUNTY. THE NAM AND GFS SHOW SOME MOISTURE AND WEAK
INSTABILITY ACROSS PORTIONS OF SISKIYOU AND MODOC COUNTY AND
EXTENDING INTO SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY. HOWEVER A WEAK CAP MAY LIMIT
THE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL TODAY.
TOMORROW...MODELS INDICATE A WEAK SHORTWAVE MOVING INTO SISKIYOU
COUNTY WITH ADDITIONAL MOISTURE AND CONTINUED WEAK INSTABILITY
OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. THIS IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCED ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS OVER SISKIYOU AND MODOC COUNTIES. WITH MODELS
SHOWING THE SHORTWAVE MOVING INTO WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY...EXPECT
THIS AREA TO RECEIVE THE BEST CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS.
ALONG THE COAST...GUSTY NORTH WINDS DECREASE LATE WEDNESDAY AND
EXPECT AREAS OF LOW CLOUDS AND FOG TO INCREASE OVER COASTAL AREAS
BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING.
THURSDAY...MODELS SHOW THE CLOSED LOW SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST
WITH FLOW ALOFT BECOMING MORE SOUTHWESTERLY. MODELS CONTINUE TO
SHOW WEAK INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE OVER THE AREA. HAVE KEPT A
MENTION OF A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS IN THE FORECAST FOR
INLAND AREAS OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND FROM THE CASCADES EAST.
HOWEVER...WITHOUT A SHORTWAVE TO TRIGGER CONVECTION MAY SEE LITTLE
ACTIVITY ON THIS DAY.
THEN BEGINNING FRIDAY...SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE BEGINS TO MOVE INTO
THE REGION FROM THE REMAINS OF TROPICAL CYCLONE HECTOR. MODELS
SHOW PRECIPITABLE WATER INCREASING TO 150 TO 200 PERCENT OF NORMAL
OVER THE AREA. ALSO THE CLOSED LOW IS FORECAST TO BE PICKED UP
BY A SHORTWAVE TROUGH TO THE NORTH SATURDAY AND MOVES INLAND INTO
THE NORTHERN PACNW COAST BY LATE SATURDAY. THE COMBINATION OF
MOISTURE...INSTABILITY WITH SIGNIFICANT DAYTIME HEATING AND
INCREASING SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT IS EXPECTED TO BRING A
CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS INLAND AREAS BOTH FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY. MODELS ARE HIGHLIGHTING THE BEST CHANCE FOR
THUNDERSTORMS ON FRIDAY ALONG AND JUST WEST OF THE CASCADES ON
FRIDAY AND FROM THE CASCADES EAST ON SATURDAY. MAY NEED TO
INCREASE THE CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ON FRIDAY OVER WESTERN
VALLEYS IF THE MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW A SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST FLOW
ALOFT. THIS MAY ALSO BRING INCREASED THUNDERSTORMS INTO WESTERN
DOUGLAS COUNTY. BY SATURDAY...FLOW BECOMES MORE SOUTHWESTERLY AND
HAVE KEPT THE BEST CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE CASCADES EAST.
ADDITIONALLY THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR OVERNIGHT THUNDERSTORMS
FRIDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY SATURDAY. THESE MAY BE MIXED WITH SHOWERS
DURING THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD.
TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO DECREASE SATURDAY DUE TO AN INCREASE
IN CLOUD COVER AND TROUGHING GRADUALLY PUSHING INLAND DURING THE
DAY WITH THE RIDGE AXIS SHIFTING EAST.
.LONG TERM...ON SUNDAY EXPECT A TROUGH OFFSHORE AND RIDGE INLAND.
THERE IS CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY ON WHETHER THE TROUGH WILL MOVE
INLAND EARLY NEXT WEEK OR REMAIN OFFSHORE. THE LATEST ECMWF
KEEPS THE RIDGE IN PLACE THROUGH TUESDAY WITH THE TROUGH MOVING
INLAND WEDNESDAY WHILE THE GFS AND EARLIER ECMWF MOVED THE TROUGH
INLAND MONDAY OR TUESDAY. HAVE GONE WITH A GRADUALLY DECREASING
TEMPERATURE TREND SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR
THUNDERSTORMS EAST OF THE CASCADES AS THE TROUGH MOVES
INLAND...POSSIBLY AS EARLY AS MONDAY.
&&
.AVIATION...THE MARINE STRATUS HAS RETREATED JUST WEST OF KOTH...BUT
IT'S EXPECTED TO RETURN IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS WITH IFR CONDITIONS
RETURNING. VISIBILITY IS ALSO EXPECTED TO LOWER TONIGHT AND COULD
POTENTIALLY LOWER TO LESS THAN A MILE. ELSEWHERE VFR CONDITIONS
CONTINUE WITH PATCHY TO AREAS OF SMOKE CAUSING OCCASIONAL
REDUCTION IN VISIBILITY IN THE KLAMATH BASIN AND TOWARDS LAKEVIEW.
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...NONE.
CA...NONE.
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 2 AM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR
PZZ350-356.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 5 AM PDT WEDNESDAY
FOR PZZ356.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 2 PM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR
PZZ370.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 2 PM PDT WEDNESDAY
FOR PZZ370.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 5 PM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR
PZZ376.
HAZARDOUS SEAS WARNING UNTIL 11 AM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR PZZ376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 2 AM PDT WEDNESDAY
FOR PZZ350.
99/99/99The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Butte wildfire started on 08/21/12. The cause is still under investigation. It was not contained by 09/01/12. At that time it burned 142 acres and $3 million was spent on wildfire fighting efforts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, August 2012
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: 400984.