Wildfire, San Diego County Mountains
- When
- July 24, 3:00 PM PST to July 29, 7:00 PM PST
- Where
- San Diego County Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- Fire Department/Rescue
- Coordinates
- 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in California, July 24 to 29, 2015
The Cutca fire began at approximately 1500 PST on the 24th. The fire burned in steep and inaccessible terrain east of Cutca Valley and south of Long Canyon 2 miles north of the Palomar Observatory in the Cleveland National Forest.
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
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 SGX wrote it up.
The Cutca fire began at approximately 1500 PST on the 24th. The fire burned in steep and inaccessible terrain east of Cutca Valley and south of Long Canyon 2 miles north of the Palomar Observatory in the Cleveland National Forest. The fire burned a total of 150 before being fully contained on the 29th. The cause of the fire is unknown. No structures were threatened, no injuries, and no evacuations ordered.
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 San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 24, 1:00 PM PST, 2 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 24, 1:00 PM PST, 2 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 200 PM PDT FRI JUL 24 2015 .SYNOPSIS... FAIR WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH COASTAL CLOUDS DURING NIGHTS AND MORNINGS. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BUILD BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK AND BRING WARMER WEATHER. AT THE SAME TIME THERE IS AN INCREASE OF MONSOON MOISTURE THAT COULD BRING THUNDERSTORMS TO THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS LATER NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES... WE HAVE SUNNY SKIES AND TEMPS A COUPLE DEGREES HIGHER THAN THEY WERE AT THIS TIME YESTERDAY. THE SHALLOWER MARINE LAYER HAS ALLOWED THIS WARMUP. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILL REMAIN BETWEEN A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE TO THE NORTHWEST AND A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE TO THE SOUTHEAST INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THAT WILL MEAN THIS SHALLOW MARINE LAYER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE RATHER CONSISTENT THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY. INLAND DAYTIME TEMPS WILL RISE TO AROUND AVERAGE WITH THE DIMINISHED MARINE PRESENCE. ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH MOVES THROUGH THE NORTHWEST...BUT LITTLE IF ANY EFFECT WILL BE FELT AROUND HERE. PROBABLY A DEEPER MARINE LAYER EXTENDING COASTAL CLOUDS A LITTLE FARTHER INLAND THOSE MORNINGS...AND SLIGHTLY LOWER DAYTIME TEMPS INLAND. AS THAT TROUGH MOVES INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS...THE BIG SUMMERTIME HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WILL MORPH WESTWARD. THAT WILL BRING WARMER WEATHER FOR ALL OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TUESDAY AND BEYOND...BUT ALSO BRING IN SOME MONSOONAL MOISTURE. THE DETAILS STILL NEED TO BE WORKED OUT...AS USUAL FOR THE FORECAST THAT FAR OUT IN TIME. SOME GUIDANCE SHOWS MARGINAL MOISTURE THAT MAY NOT BE ENOUGH FOR PRECIP...WHILE OTHER GUIDANCE SHOWS A LOT. SMALL CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY IN MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE FORECAST STARTING WEDNESDAY. WITH GREATER CONFIDENCE WE CAN SAY IT WILL BECOME WARMER AND FEEL MORE HUMID DURING THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION... 241954Z...COAST/VALLEYS...THROUGH 25/0000 UTC...UNRESTRICTED VIS AND MOSTLY SKC. 25/0000-1500 UTC...STRATUS WILL DEVELOP 15-25 SM INLAND...WITH BASES 1000-1300 FT MSL AND TOPS AROUND 1600-2000 FT MSL. STRATUS/FOG UNLIKELY TO IMPACT KONT. FOR KSAN...KCRQ AND KSNA...CONFIDENCE IN CIG HEIGHTS/VIS AND TIMING IS MODERATE...WITH HIGH CONFIDENCE IN OCCURRENCE. STRATUS WILL CLEAR TO THE COASTAL WATERS 24/1500-1900 UTC. MTNS/DESERTS...SKC AND UNRESTRICTED VIS THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. && .MARINE... 1254 PM...NO HAZARDOUS MARINE WEATHER EXPECTED THROUGH WEDNESDAY. && .SKYWARN... SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED. HOWEVER WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS. && .SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CA...NONE. PZ...NONE. && PUBLIC...MM AVIATION/MARINE...HARRISON
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, July 24, 2015
- Flooding and Heavy Rain in Florida, July 24 to 29, 2015
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, July 24, 2015
- Excessive Heat in Arkansas, July 24, 2015
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, July 24, 2015
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 24 to 25, 2015
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, July 24, 2015
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 24, 2015
- Damaging Winds and Heavy Rain in Minnesota, July 24, 2015
- Tornado in Minnesota, July 24, 2015
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Kansas, July 24 to 25, 2015
- Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, July 24, 2015
More
Every storm in California in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 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: 596492.