Wildfire, S Sierra Foothills
- When
- June 16, 12:00 AM PST to June 26, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- S Sierra Foothills forecast zone
- Reported by
- Park/Forest Service
Wildfire in California, June 16 to 26, 2013
The Carstens Wildfire was in the Sierra NF. The ignition date was 6/16 and the cause was human - unattended campfire.
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 Carstens Wildfire was in the Sierra NF. The ignition date was 6/16 and the cause was human - unattended campfire. The location was 1 Mile North of Mid Pines (Mariposa County) and the size was 1708 acres. Containment was reached on 6/26 and the cost to containment was $9.8 million.
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 Jun 15, 1:57 PM PST, 10 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 15, 1:57 PM PST, 10 hours 3 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
257 PM PDT SAT JUN 15 2013
.SYNOPSIS...A DRY SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL PERSIST OVER THE CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA INTERIOR FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. SEASONAL TEMPERATURES
OVER THE WEEKEND WILL GIVE WAY TO BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR MOST
OF NEXT WEEK. DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE PERIOD.
&&
.DISCUSSION...AN UPPER LOW SPINNING OFF THE PACNW COAST IS PROVIDING
A DRY SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AND SUNNY SKIES ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR. TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY ARE UP SEVERAL DEGREES FROM 24 HOURS AND WILL TOP OUT IN THE
MID 90S TODAY. EXPECTING A NEAR CARBON COPY FOR FATHER'S DAY AS THE
UPPER LOW MOVES VERY LITTLE FROM IT'S CURRENT LOCATION. MODELS CONTINUE
TO AGREE WITH THE LOW BEGINNING A SLOW EASTWARD TRACK TOWARDS THE
PACNW ON MONDAY FOR THE START OF A COOLING TREND. THE CENTER OF THE
LOW CROSSES OVER PORTLAND WEDNESDAY MORNING THEN LIFTS NORTHEAST
OVER WESTERN CANADA FOR THE END OF THE WEEK. THE COOLER AIRMASS WILL
DROP TEMPERATURES BELOW CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMS ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.
HIGHS IN THE SJV ARE FORECAST TO BE IN THE MID-UPPER 80S TUESDAY AND
THEN LOWER-MID 80S WEDNESDAY. WEAK ZONAL FLOW BEHIND THE DEPARTING
LOW WILL ALLOW FOR WARMING BACK TO NEAR NORMAL LEVELS LATE IN THE
WEEK. CONFIDENCE IS FAIRLY GOOD FOR FURTHER WARMING TO A LITTLE ABOVE
NORMAL NEXT WEEKEND. ONSHORE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS REMAIN MODERATE
ALLOWING FOR SOME LOCALLY BREEZY CONDITIONS. GRADIENTS WILL INCREASE
AS THE UPPER LOW HEADS INLAND BRINGING AN INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND
STRENGTH OF BREEZY TO GUSTY CONDITIONS EARLY NEXT WEEK. DRY CONDITIONS
WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE UPCOMING WEEK WITH JUST SOME MID/HIGH CLOUDS
ACCOMPANYING THE APPROACHING SYSTEM.
&&
.AVIATION...
VFR ACROSS THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR.
&&
.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE.
&&
.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.
&&
.CLIMATE...
RECORDS
SITE DATE HI_MAX:YEAR LO_MAX:YEAR HI_MIN:YEAR LO_MIN:YEAR
KFAT 06-15 109:1961 68:1995 77:2000 47:1907
KFAT 06-16 110:1961 71:1921 74:1985 46:1995
KFAT 06-17 109:2012 68:1909 77:2012 49:1939
KBFL 06-15 113:1961 69:1923 80:1966 40:1907
KBFL 06-16 113:1961 72:1995 78:1982 43:1913
KBFL 06-17 109:1961 77:2005 79:1982 44:1913
&&
.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&
PUBLIC...DCH
AVN/FW...BINGHAM
SYNOPSIS...BSO
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORDEvent 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 Arizona, June 16 to 18, 2013
- Flood and Hail in Nebraska, June 16 to 17, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, June 16 to 17, 2013
- Hail in South Dakota, June 16, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, June 16, 2013
- Flash Flood and Hail in Oklahoma, June 16 to 17, 2013
- Hail in South Dakota, June 16, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, June 16 to 17, 2013
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Nebraska, June 16, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, June 16 to 17, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, June 16 to 17, 2013
- Damaging Wind in Wyoming, June 16, 2013
More
Every storm in California in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in California, June 2013
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: 510100.