Wildfire in California, July 30 to 31, 2015

Name: Wildfire in California, July 30 to 31, 2015
Start: 2015-07-30T11:40
End: 2015-07-31T23:59
Location: California

July 30 to 31, 2015 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Advance Fire was started by lightning on July 30, 2015 and was contained on August 2, 2015. It was located 5 miles north of Three Rivers, CA and burned 86 acres.

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 Advance Fire was started by lightning on July 30, 2015 and was contained on August 2, 2015. It was located 5 miles north of Three Rivers, CA and burned 86 acres. The cost of containment is unknown.

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 Jul 30, 2:15 AM PST, 9 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 30, 2:15 AM PST, 9 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
315 AM PDT THU JUL 30 2015

.SYNOPSIS...
A NORTHWESTWARD INFLUX OF MONSOONAL MOISTURE WILL BRING AN INCREASE
IN CLOUDS AND HUMIDITY TO THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH
FRIDAY WITH A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY OVER THE
MOUNTAINS AND DESERT.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
MONSOONAL MOISTURE HAD BEGUN PUSHING NORTHWARD INTO SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA WEDNESDAY EVENING...WITH THUNDERSTORMS AS FAR NORTH AS
NORTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO...SOUTHERN INYO AND NORTHERN LOS
ANGELES COUNTIES. THE LATEST GOES INFRA-RED LOOP SHOWS MID AND HIGH
CLOUDS OVER KERN COUNTY...SO KEEPING A MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR
THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERT LOOKS ON TRACK.

THERE WILL BE TWO MAJOR WEATHER CONCERNS TODAY...BOTH DUE TO
THUNDERSTORMS. THE FIRST CONCERN IS DRY LIGHTNING THAT COULD RESULT
IN ADDITIONAL WILDFIRE STARTS. THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
WERE DRY THIS MORNING. AT 09Z /0200 PDT/...THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY AT
BAKERSFIELD WAS 10 PERCENT...AND AT AVENAL 14 PERCENT...BOTH DRIER
THAN THE KERN COUNTY DESERT. IN THE PIUTES...HUMIDITIES WERE ONLY IN
THE 20/S. UNTIL THE LOWEST LEVELS MOISTEN...ANY RAIN THAT FALLS
INITIALLY WILL EVAPORATE ON THE WAY DOWN.

THE SECOND CONCERN IS THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING IN THE KERN
COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS THIS AFTERNOON. ONCE THERE IS ENOUGH
LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE FOR RAIN TO REACH THE GROUND...RUNOFF FROM SLOW-
MOVING THUNDERSTORMS COULD CAUSE RISES IN CREEKS AND STREAMS...MUD
OR DEBRIS FLOWS AND ROAD EROSION...ESPECIALLY IN THE KERN DESERT
NEAR THE EL PASO MOUNTAINS...A FLOOD-PRONE AREA. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH
HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS FOR LATE
THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING.

HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
WERE SOLIDLY IN TRIPLE DIGITS WEDNESDAY...WITH FRESNO REACHING 108
DEGREES AND BAKERSFIELD A DEGREE LOWER. THE INCREASING CLOUD COVER
WILL KEEP HIGHS A LITTLE COOLER TODAY...BUT TRIPLE DIGIT HIGHS WILL
CONTINUE FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK.

THE 06Z NAM-12 HAS NO PRECIPITATION FOR THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY FROM
THIS MONSOONAL SURGE...AND THE 03Z SREF DOES HAVE RAIN OVER THE
SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...BUT IS
DRY NORTH OF VISALIA OR HANFORD. EVEN THE 29/15Z RFC QPF GUIDANCE
HAS 0 QPF FOR FRESNO...WITH THE HEAVIEST QPF OVER THE SOUTHERN PART
OF THE SIERRA NEVADA NEAR GIANT FOREST AND ROGERS CAMP.

THE MODELS CONTINUE TO FORECAST THE FLOW ALOFT TO TURN SOUTHWESTERLY
SUNDAY...BRINGING A DRYING TREND TO THE REGION. AS A RESULT...
EXPECT THAT ANY CONVECTION NEXT WEEK WOULD BE CONFINED TO THE HIGH
COUNTRY OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA.

&&

.AVIATION...
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERT AREAS OF KERN
COUNTY AFTER 18Z TODAY. THUNDERSTORMS SPREADING NORTHWARD ALONG THE
SIERRA NEVADA AFTER 22Z TODAY. OTHERWISE VFR CONDITIONS CAN BE
EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR DURING THE NEXT 24
HOURS.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
ON THURSDAY JULY 30 2015... UNHEALTHY IN MADERA COUNTY. UNHEALTHY
FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS IN FRESNO... KERN... KINGS... MERCED AND
TULARE COUNTIES AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK AND FOREST.
FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT VALLEYAIR.ORG

&&

.CERTAINTY...

THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS HIGH.
THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7 IS HIGH.

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 07-30      114:1898     80:1966     83:2003     57:1975
KFAT 07-31      114:1908     83:1976     81:1908     53:1895
KFAT 08-01      112:1908     79:1933     86:1908     56:1888

KBFL 07-30      112:1908     82:1965     82:2014     48:1914
KBFL 07-31      110:1943     85:1985     81:2014     55:1905
KBFL 08-01      112:1979     86:1985     80:2000     53:1912

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM 11 AM PDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS
EVENING FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS...INDIAN WELLS VALLEY AND
THE SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT /CAZ095-098-099/.

&&

PUBLIC...SANGER
AVN/FW...ANDERSEN
SYNOPSIS...ANDERSEN

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 30, 2:30 AM PST, 9 hours 10 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
330 AM PDT THU JUL 30 2015

CAZ095-098-099-311200-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-
SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
330 AM PDT THU JUL 30 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND DESERT.

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM PDT THIS MORNING
THROUGH THIS EVENING...

...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

* TIMING: TODAY AND TONIGHT.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERT OF KERN COUNTY...
  INCLUDING THE PIUTES...RED ROCK RANDSBURG ROAD...HIGHWAY 14
  NEAR RED ROCK CANYON AND THE SAN EMIGDIO MOUNTAINS.

* IMPACTS: DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND ERRATIC GUSTY WINDS. BRIEF
  HEAVY RAIN CAN CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

* TIMING: FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERT OF KERN COUNTY.

* IMPACTS: DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND ERRATIC GUSTY WINDS. BRIEF
  HEAVY RAIN CAN CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN.

* STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS
  SOURCE...FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR
UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

CAZ096-097-311200-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
330 AM PDT THU JUL 30 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF
THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA.

...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

* TIMING: THIS AFTERNOONS THROUGH TONIGHT.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
  THROUGH TULARE COUNTY.

* IMPACTS: DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND ERRATIC GUSTY WINDS. BRIEF
  HEAVY RAIN CAN CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

* TIMING: FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...THEN AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS SUNDAY
  THROUGH END OF PERIOD.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
  THROUGH TULARE COUNTY.

* IMPACTS: DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND ERRATIC GUSTY WINDS. BRIEF
  HEAVY RAIN CAN CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN.

* STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS
  SOURCE...FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR
UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

CAZ089>094-311200-
WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
330 AM PDT THU JUL 30 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA.

...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

* TIMING: THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: THE SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT
  FOOTHILLS...GRADUALLY SPREADING NORTHWARD THROUGH THE PERIOD.

* IMPACTS: DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND ERRATIC GUSTY WINDS. BRIEF
  HEAVY RAIN CAN CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

* TIMING: FRIDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
  AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS.

* IMPACTS: DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND ERRATIC GUSTY WINDS. BRIEF
  HEAVY RAIN CAN CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING.

* STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS
  SOURCE...FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR
UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

SANGER

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Tulare County Foothills

When: July 30, 11:40 AM PST to July 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Tulare County Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: State Official

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 California in 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 593780.