Dry northwest winds enhanced wildfires, including the Rocky Fire in Lake County and a property damaging grass fire in Elverta, in northern Sacramento County.
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 STO wrote it up.
Dry northwest winds enhanced wildfires, including the Rocky Fire in Lake County and a property damaging grass fire in Elverta, in northern Sacramento County.
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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 27, 7:38 AM PST, 5 hours 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 838 AM PDT MON JUL 27 2015 .SYNOPSIS... DRY WEATHER CONTINUES THIS WEEK WITH TEMPERATURES RETURNING TO WELL ABOVE AVERAGE AS HIGH PRESSURE STRENGTHENS. INCREASING MONSOON MOISTURE MAY LEAD TO A CHANCE OF MOUNTAIN THUNDERSTORMS BY THE WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION... FORECAST ON TRACK FOR TODAY WITH NO BIG UPDATES NEEDED. TEMPERATURES RUNNING SEVERAL DEGREES WARMER THIS MORNING THAN YESTERDAY WHICH WILL TRANSLATE TO HIGHS AROUND 3-9 DEGREES WARMER TODAY. PRESSURE GRADIENT STRENGTHENS TODAY BEHIND DEPARTING TROUGH AS HIGH PRESSURE BEGINS TO BUILD INTO THE REGION. THIS SHOULD RESULT IN MORE NORTHERLY FLOW WITH LOCALLY BREEZY WINDS ACROSS NORTHERN AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE SAC VALLEY AND COASTAL RANGE. SOME LOCALLY GUSTY EASTERLY WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY IN THE FOOTHILLS AND SIERRA. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS. CEO . PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... CLEAR SKIES COVER THE INTERIOR OF NORCAL EARLY THIS MORNING. THE STRONG SHORT-WAVE AND FRONTAL SYSTEM THAT BRUSHED ACROSS THE FAR NORTHERN PART OF THE STATE SUNDAY EVENING BROUGHT A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO PORTIONS OF SHASTA COUNTY, BUT THAT SYSTEM IS NOW WELL TO THE EAST OVER EASTERN NEVADA. SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS HAVE TRENDED MORE NORTHERLY BEHIND THE SYSTEM, AND LOCALLY BREEZY NORTH WINDS HAVE DEVELOPED THROUGH PARTS OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY RESULTING IN MILDER TEMPERATURES THIS MORNING. HOTTER WEATHER WILL BEGIN TO RETURN TO THE REGION TODAY AS ONSHORE FLOW SLACKENS AND THE AIRMASS WARMS IN RESPONSE TO THE BUILDING RIDGE. LOCALLY BREEZY NORTHERLY WINDS, ESPECIALLY OVER THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY, WILL CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY. SOME LOCALLY GUSTY EASTERLY WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT NEAR WEST FACING CANYONS IN THE FOOTHILLS AND NORTHERN SIERRA AS EASTERLY PRESSURE GRADIENTS TIGHTEN. EVEN HOTTER WEATHER IS EXPECTED TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE STRENGTHENS AND THE SURFACE THERMAL TROUGH SHIFTS WEST TO NEAR THE COAST. MUCH OF THE CENTRAL VALLEY WILL BE ABOVE THE CENTURY MARK BOTH DAYS WITH MILD OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATES. MOST OF THE AREA WILL REMAIN HOT THURSDAY, BUT AREAS NEAR THE DELTA MAY BEGIN TO SEE SOME COASTAL INFLUENCE AS THE SURFACE THERMAL TROUGH SHIFTS BACK INTO THE VALLEY MARKING THE INITIAL RETURN OF THE DELTA BREEZE. && .EXTENDED DISCUSSION (FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY) AFTER SEVERAL DAYS OF HOT WEATHER, GRADUAL COOLING TREND BEGINS FRIDAY AS THE UPPER RIDGE WEAKENS SLIGHTLY. DAYTIME HIGHS WILL COOL BY A FEW DEGREES EACH DAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. MAX TEMPS ON FRIDAY WILL RANGE 95 TO 110 IN THE VALLEY (WARMEST NEAR REDDING AND COOLEST NEAR THE DELTA). BY MONDAY OF NEXT WEEK, VALLEY HIGHS WILL RANGE 85 TO 102 DEGREES AND MOST SITES WILL BE WITHIN A COUPLE DEGREES OF NORMAL. THE OTHER FACTOR TO CONSIDER IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST IS THE POSSIBILITY OF MOUNTAIN THUNDERSTORMS, MAINLY ALONG THE SIERRA, AS MONSOONAL MOISTURE MOVES AROUND THE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM INTO NORCAL. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EVERY AFTERNOON/EVENING FOR MOUNTAIN REGIONS FRIDAY INTO MONDAY. JBB && .AVIATION... MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THE NEXT 24 HOURS, EXCEPT MVFR/IFR IN SMOKE NEAR THE LOWELL FIRE. ONSHORE FLOW CONTINUES THROUGH THE DELTA THIS MORNING, HOWEVER, WINDS ARE BEGINNING TO TRANSITION TO NORTHERLY IN THE VALLEY AS THE NORTH-SOUTH PRESSURE GRADIENT INCREASES TODAY. TAF SITES WILL GENERALLY HAVE NORTH WINDS 5-15 KTS TODAY WITH GUSTS 15 TO 20 KTS. STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE IN THE KRDD-KRBL VICINITY AND ALONG THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY. EXPECT LIGHT TO MODERATE EAST TO NORTHEASTERLY FLOW ALONG THE SIERRA. JBB && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 133 PM PDT MON JUL 27 2015 CAZ013>019-063-064-066>069-282045- SHASTA LAKE AREA / NORTHERN SHASTA COUNTY- BURNEY BASIN / EASTERN SHASTA COUNTY-NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY- CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY-SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY- CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA-NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MOUNTAINS SOUTHWESTERN SHASTA COUNTY TO NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY- CLEAR LAKE/SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY- NORTHEAST FOOTHILLS/SACRAMENTO VALLEY-MOTHERLODE- WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK- WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SHASTA DAM ...BURNEY...REDDING... RED BLUFF...CHICO...OROVILLE...MARYSVILLE/YUBA CITY ... SACRAMENTO ...FAIRFIELD/SUISUN ...STOCKTON...MODESTO... ALDER SPRINGS...LAKEPORT...PARADISE...GRASS VALLEY...JACKSON... CHESTER...QUINCY...BLUE CANYON 133 PM PDT MON JUL 27 2015 ...BREEZY NORTHERLY WINDS FOLLOWED BY VERY HOT TEMPERATURES AND MOUNTAIN THUNDERSTORMS... .IMPACTS... * BREEZY DRYING NORTH WINDS AND HOT WEATHER WILL PRIME FUELS FOR ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER DANGER * HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES AND IMPACTS POSSIBLE IF ACTION NOT TAKEN * ADDITIONAL FIRE STARTS POSSIBLE DUE TO THUNDERSTORMS OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS BY END OF THE WEEK .FORECAST CONFIDENCE... * HIGH FOR NORTHERLY WINDS * HIGH FOR HEAT * MEDIUM FOR HIGHER ELEVATION THUNDERSTORMS .TIMING AND STRENGTH... * BREEZY NORTHERLY WINDS TODAY INTO TUESDAY FOR COASTAL RANGE AND WESTERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY. DRYING CONDITIONS WILL LEAD TO LOW HUMIDITY AND POOR OVERNIGHT RECOVERIES. * VALLEY HIGHS 100-111 FOR TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WITH MILD OVERNIGHT LOWS. TRIPLE DIGIT HEAT WILL CONTINUE ACROSS NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY INTO THE WEEKEND. * SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS FRIDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. .WEATHER SUMMARY... LOCALLY BREEZY WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY LEADING TO DRYING FUELS. TEMPERATURES WILL REACH THE TRIPLE DIGITS IN THE VALLEY THROUGH THURSDAY. HIGHS IN THE 100S LIKELY TO CONTINUE FOR NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY INTO THE WEEKEND. HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES AND IMPACTS ARE POSSIBLE IF ACTION IS NOT TAKEN. IN ADDITION...MONSOON MOISTURE WILL MAKE A NORTHWARD SURGE FRIDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. SCATTERED MOUNTAIN AND FOOTHILLS THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE WHICH MAY LEAD TO ADDITIONAL FIRE STARTS. CEO
2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The fire started Monday afternoon along Browning Street, about two miles north of Elverta Road, off Highway 99 and Baseline Road in Elverta, Sacramento County. The fire spread into Placer County. One home, six cars and a tractor were destroyed by the fire.
The Rocky Fire burned 18,000 acres by the end of July, and caused the evacuation of 650 people. The fire ultimately burned 68,000 acres by August 14, with 43 residences, 53 outbuildings destroyed; 8 structures damaged.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 2015
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: 596809, 597440.