Wildfire in Arizona, May 20 to 23, 2015

Name: Wildfire in Arizona, May 20 to 23, 2015
Start: 2015-05-20T13:15
End: 2015-05-23T18:00
Location: Arizona

May 20 to 23, 2015 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Dry fuels, complex terrain and gusty winds allowed a wildfire to spread quickly before becoming contained a few days later in southeast Pima County.

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: 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 TWC wrote it up.

Dry fuels, complex terrain and gusty winds allowed a wildfire to spread quickly before becoming contained a few days later in southeast Pima County.

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 Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 20, 9:03 AM MST, 4 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 20, 9:03 AM MST, 4 hours 12 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
903 AM MST WED MAY 20 2015

.SYNOPSIS...WE'LL SEE PERIODS OF GUSTY WINDS THIS WEEK AS WEATHER
SYSTEMS CONTINUE TO PASS MAINLY NORTH OF THE AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL
BE NEAR TO BELOW AVERAGE INTO THE WEEKEND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY AND 20/12Z UPPER-AIR PLOTS SHOW A
BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE JUST OFF THE NORTH CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
COAST. AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM...IR AND VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS
MOSTLY MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDINESS COVERING MUCH OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA...NEVADA...UTAH AND WESTERN ARIZONA.

AS OF 15Z (8 AM MST)...TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION WERE GENERALLY
IN THE 60S...WITH THE TUCSON INTL AIRPORT REPORTING A TEMP OF 69
DEGS AFTER A MORNING LOW OF 58 DEGS...WHICH WAS 4 DEGS BELOW NORMAL
FOR THIS DATE. THESE READINGS SEEM TO BE ON TRACK WITH RESPECT TO
THE INHERITED AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES...BUT WILL TWEAK SHORT
TERM HOURLY TEMP GRIDS TO REFLECT THE MOST RECENT TRENDS.

FOR INFO REGARDING THE FORECAST BEYOND TODAY...PLEASE REFER TO THE
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BELOW.

&&

.AVIATION...VALID THROUGH 21/12Z.
SCATTERED TO BROKEN CIRRUS CLOUDS IN AN INCREASING SOUTHWESTERLY
FLOW THROUGH THE PERIOD. NORMAL LIGHT DIURNAL WIND TRENDS THIS
MORNING BECOMING GUSTIER IN THE AFTERNOON...SLY/SWLY AT 12-20 KTS
WITH GUSTS OF 20-30 KTS. THE STRONGEST WIND WILL BE SOUTH-TO-
SOUTHEAST OF KTUS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF
AMENDMENTS.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE
COMING WEEKEND WITH SEVERAL PERIODS OF ELEVATED WINDS. WARMER
TEMPERATURES TODAY BEFORE A MODEST COOLING TREND THURSDAY THROUGH
SATURDAY.

THE MAIN HIGHLIGHT OF THIS PERIOD CONTINUES TO BE THE DEVELOPMENT OF
STRONG SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. CURRENT
INDICATIONS ARE THAT THE STRONGEST AND MOST WIDESPREAD WINDS WILL
OCCUR ON FRIDAY. IN ADDITION...MINIMUM RH VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO
FALL TO AROUND 10 PERCENT OVER SOUTHEASTERN PORTIONS OF 152...AND 10
TO 15 PERCENT OVER SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF 151...WHICH COMBINED WITH
SEVERAL DAYS FOR ADDITIONAL DRYING OF FINE FUELS...MAY LEAD TO
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS FOR THESE ZONES. FIRE CREWS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO MONITOR SUBSEQUENT FORECASTS FOR THE POTENTIAL
ISSUANCE OF FIRE WEATHER PRODUCTS. A MORE LOCALIZED CRITICAL FIRE
WEATHER THREAT EXISTS ON THURSDAY WITH SLIGHTLY SLOWER WIND SPEEDS.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...JUST PATCHES OF CIRRUS LEVEL MOISTURE IN AN
OTHERWISE DRY SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW. A PAIR OF IMPULSES APPROACHING
FROM THE WEST WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG GUSTY WINDS
THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY. BEST MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS WILL
REMAIN NORTH OF OUR AREA AS THE STRONGER SECOND SYSTEM LIFTS INTO
THE FRONT RANGE AND CENTRAL PLAINS SATURDAY.

HEIGHTS AND THICKNESSES REBOUND EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH TEMPERATURES
CLIMBING BACK TO NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS. ECMWF IS TRYING TO SIGNAL A
PATTERN CHANGE WITH HIGH PRESSURE SETTING UP TO OUR SOUTH OVER
MEXICO WHILE CONSOLIDATING MOST OF THE SOUTHERN LATITUDE SPLIT BACK
INTO THE MAIN FLOW NEXT WEEK. I'M NOT SO SURE...WE'RE DUE...BUT IT
MAY BE TOO AGGRESSIVE IN DOING THIS CONSIDERING HOW BUSY THINGS
STILL ARE UPSTREAM IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC. THE GFS IS A LITTLE LESS
AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS TREND.

&&

.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE

&&

CURRENT DISCUSSION...MOLLERE
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...MEYER/RASMUSSEN

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON

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, Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains

When: May 20, 1:15 PM MST to May 23, 6:00 PM MST
Where: Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 31.834, -110.796 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A Recreational Vehicle that started on fire along Highway 83 about 10 miles north of Sonoita, ignited nearby brush and was quickly spread over complex terrain by gusty winds. The highway was closed in both directions between Sahuarita Road and Sonoita for about 24 hours. The wildfire consumed 2,023 acres before firefighters gained control.

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 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, May 2015

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: 583507.