The Banner Fire started around 0930 PST on July 3 in the Banner, California area, near Route 78 in San Diego County. It quickly spread westward and expanded to 150 acres, threatening the town of Julian.
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 SGX wrote it up.
The Banner Fire started around 0930 PST on July 3 in the Banner, California area, near Route 78 in San Diego County. It quickly spread westward and expanded to 150 acres, threatening the town of Julian. Portions of Route 78 were closed, and mandatory evacuation was ordered for 200 homes; however, the evacuation order was lifted later that evening, as the containment increased. Two homes were destroyed. On July 4, four injuries were reported. On July 6, at 0815 PST, the Banner Fire was 100% contained. However, the road closures still remained in effect through the day, as the firefighting crews continued to monitor the burn areas for potential flare-ups. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 3, 9:01 AM PST, 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
1001 AM PDT THU JUL 3 2014
.SYNOPSIS...
FAIR AGAIN TODAY WITH A FEW LOW CLOUDS LINGERING AT THE
BEACHES...AND TEMPERATURES AT AR A FEW DEGREES ABOVE SEASONAL
AVERAGES. A LITTLE WARMER FOR THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND...WITH THE MARINE
LAYER BECOMING SHALLOWER AND THE NIGHT AND MORNING LOW CLOUDS
BECOMING MORE PATCHY. SUB-TROPICAL MOISTURE MOVING IN FROM THE
SOUTHEAST WILL BRING CHANCES FOR AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS FRIDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE
CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DECREASES AFTER MONDAY.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
AT 9 AM PDT...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWED A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE
BUILDING OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST AND A WELL DEFINED MONSOONAL
MOISTURE FRONT STRETCHING FROM CENTRAL BAJA CALIFORNIA TO PHOENIX.
THIS FRONT WAS MOVING SLOWLY TO THE NORTHWEST. ACCORDING TO THE
03/1200Z SOUNDING...A MARINE TEMPERATURE INVERSION AT 2000 FT MSL.
ASOS OBS THIS MORNING SHOWED CLOUD BASES DOWN TO AROUND 800 FT
MSL. THIS CREATED PATCHY DENSE FOG ON THE LOWER COASTAL SLOPES
EARLY THIS MORNING WHERE THE CLOUDS INTERSECTED THE TERRAIN. LOW
CLOUDS HAVE ALREADY BEGAN ERODING TO THE BEACHES WHERE CLEARING IS
EXPECTED THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. LOW CLOUDS WITH SIMILAR BASES AND
TOPS WILL RETURN TONIGHT...CREATING MORE PATCHY DENSE FOG OF THE
COASTAL MESAS AND LOW COASTAL SLOPES. FORECAST HIGH TEMPERATURES
TODAY ARE ON TRACK WITH LOW TO MID 70S AT THE BEACHES AND NEAR
SEASONAL NORMS ELSEWHERE.
A SHIFT IN THE GENERAL WEATHER PATTERN WILL OCCUR JULY 4 THROUGH
THIS WEEKEND. THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN
OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION TOMORROW...WHICH WILL ALLOW MONSOONAL
MOISTURE TO ADVECT NORTHWESTWARD INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
PWAT OVER THE AREA LOOK RATHER IMPRESSIVE BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON
WITH VALUES WELL IN EXCESS OF 1.25. HOWEVER...THIS MOISTURE WILL
BE ELEVATED...SLOWLY SATURATING DOWN TO THE LOWER LEVELS BY
SATURDAY. THE 03/1200Z GFS AND NAM ARE SHOWING A VORT MAX MOVING
ACROSS THE CWA FRIDAY AFTERNOON WITCH MAY HELP TO TRIGGER THESE
STORMS. HOWEVER...IF THE MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS ARE TOO
THICK..THIS COULD HINDER THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIURNAL MOUNTAIN
CONVECTION. WITH THAT SAID...THE INITIAL THREAT FRIDAY WILL BE DRY
LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS. SATURDAY APPEARS TO BE A MORE TYPICAL
MONSOON CONVECTION DAY WITH LESS HIGH CLOUDS AND A CHANCE OF
AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAIN AND DESERTS. WITH A DEEPER
MOISTURE LAYER IN PLACE...FLASH FLOODING WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT.
MOISTURE DECREASES SLIGHTLY SUNDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING OVER THE MOUNTAINS.
THE BUILDING RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND WILL HELP
TO SQUASH THE MARINE LAYER AND RAISE TEMPERATURES. NIGHT AND MORNING
STRATUS COVERAGE WILL REMAIN PATCHY AT BEST. HIGH TEMPERATURES FOR
THE 4TH OF JULY WILL BE A COUPLE OF DEGREES WARMER THAN TODAY WITH
MID 70S AND THE BEACHES AND NEAR NORMAL ELSEWHERE. SIMILAR HIGH
TEMPS FORECAST THROUGH THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH LITTLE DAY TO
DAY VARIATION.
&&
.AVIATION...
031600Z...COAST/VALLEYS...LOW CLOUDS...WITH BASES FROM 800-1400 FT
MSL AND TOPS TO 1800 FT MSL...WILL CONTINUE TO CLEAR TOWARDS THE
COAST THIS MORNING. LOW VIS OF 4-6 SM HZ IN THE VALLEYS WILL IMPROVE
TO P6SM BY LATE THIS MORNING. STRATUS MAY LOITER ALONG THE BEACHES
THROUGH THE AFTN. LOW CLOUDS WILL REDEVELOP ALONG THE COAST THIS
EVENING...AND PUSH AROUND 15 SM INLAND BY MID FRI MORNING. BASES AND
TOPS WILL BE SLIGHTLY LOWER AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE AREA.
VIS MAY LOWER TO 2-4 SM BR WHERE LOW CLOUDS APPROACH AERODROMES ON
HIGHER TERRAIN. FORECASTER CONFIDENCE MODERATE.
MTNS/DESERTS...MOSTLY SKC WITH UNRESTRICTED VIS THROUGH FRI MORNING.
&&
.MARINE...
900 AM...NO HAZARDOUS MARINE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH
SUNDAY.
&&
.BEACHES...
A NEW SOUTH SWELL WILL CREATE ELEVATED SURF AND WIDESPREAD STRONG
RIP CURRENTS AT THE BEACHES LATE FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THE SWELL
WILL ARRIVE FRIDAY...AND PEAK SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE SUNDAY
NIGHT AT 3-4 FT/20-23 SEC. THIS WILL RESULT IN SURF OF 4-6
FEET...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER SETS FROM SOLANA BEACH NORTH THROUGH
ORANGE COUNTY. LONG-SHORE CURRENTS WILL BE POSSIBLE AS
WELL...ESPECIALLY IN SOUTHERN SAN DIEGO COUNTY. STRONG RIP CURRENTS
ARE EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. A BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT IS
IN EFFECT FOR ELEVATED SURF AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS FROM LATE
TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY EVENING.
&&
.SKYWARN...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY.
HOWEVER...WEATHER SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY EVENING
FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY
COASTAL AREAS.
PZ...NONE.
&&
SYNOPSIS...PG
PUBLIC...JT/PALMER
AVIATION/MARINE...JJTThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 2014
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: 535048.