The Lake Fire began on June 17th around 1440 PST on Jenks Lake Road West near Camp de Benneville Pines in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains. The fire burned rapidly south and east near Highway 38 south of Big Bear toward the Morongo Valley in heavy timber.
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 Lake Fire began on June 17th around 1440 PST on Jenks Lake Road West near Camp de Benneville Pines in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains. The fire burned rapidly south and east near Highway 38 south of Big Bear toward the Morongo Valley in heavy timber. Evacuations: 120 people from Camp de Benneville Pines, 1 person from Camp Ta Ta Pochon, 24 people from Camp Alpine Meadows, 23 people from Camp Edwards, and 10 people from Camp Tulakes. Mandatory evacuations were in place from east of Angelus Oaks to Onyx Summit on both sides of Hwy 38. All Hiking Trails into the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area were closed due to the proximity of the fire to many hiking trails. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) was closed from Whitewater Preserve to Onyx Summit. Highway 38 was closed between Angelus Oaks to Lake Williams. Jenks Lake Road was closed as well. The Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District issued a Smoke Advisory for Yucca Valley, Morongo Valley, Lucerne Valley and surrounding communities. The Lake Fire burned a total of 31,359 acres before being fully contained around 2115 PST on August 1. The fire was human-caused, but still under investigation. Approximately 10 structures were damaged or destroyed, including one home and 3 outbuildings.
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 Jun 17, 12:00 PM PST, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.
ZCZC LAXWRKAFD 171953
TTAA00 KLAX DDHHMM
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
100 PM PDT WED JUN 17 2015
.SYNOPSIS...
A STRONG HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE HOT DAYS
INLAND THROUGH SATURDAY...WHILE A SHALLOW MARINE LAYER WILL KEEP
COASTAL AREAS COOLER WITH AREAS OF NIGHT AND MORNING LOW CLOUDS AND
FOG. GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE MOUNTAIN SLOPES INTO THE
DESERTS LATE EACH DAY INTO THE LATE NIGHT. A SLOW COOLING TREND WILL
BEGIN ON SUNDAY AS THE HIGH MOVES EAST.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
MARINE CLOUDS REMAINED EXTENSIVE OFFSHORE EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...AND
COVERED THE IMMEDIATE COAST. OTHERWISE...SKIES WERE CLEAR. AT
MIDDAY...SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS WERE TRENDING ONSHORE TO THE
LOWER DESERTS AT 5-6 MBS...BUT REMAINED A BIT WEAKER TO THE NE.
WESTERLY WIND GUSTS WERE INCREASING TO 25 TO 30 MPH ALONG THE
WINDIER DESERT SLOPES.
A STRONG...FLAT HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WAS CENTERED WELL OFF THE SOCAL
COAST THIS MORNING. THE LATEST DETERMINISTIC SOLUTIONS OF THE CMC/
GFS/ECMWF ARE IN CLOSE AGREEMENT THAT THE HIGH WILL REACH NEAR
MAXIMUM STRENGTH TODAY AT AROUND 595 DM AND MAINTAIN THIS INTENSITY
INTO THE WEEKEND AS IT SLOWLY DRIFTS EAST. THIS WILL ALLOW HEIGHTS/
THICKNESS TO CLIMB A BIT MORE OVER THE REGION...PEAKING ON SAT. BY
12Z SUNDAY...THE CENTER IS FORECAST TO BE OVER AZ...BUT HEIGHTS/
THICKNESS WILL BE SLOW TO FALL AS RIDGING SW OF THE CENTER CONTINUES
TO DOMINATE THE AREA. THIS WILL BRING A SLOW COOLING TREND INLAND
AFTER SAT...AS THE MARINE LAYER SLOWLY REBUILDS.
EVEN WITH MINOR DAY-TO-DAY FLUCTUATIONS...DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL
CONTINUE TO RUN SOME 6 TO 12 DEGREES F ABOVE AVERAGE THROUGH
SAT...EXCEPT OVER COASTAL AREAS WHERE THEY WILL BE NEAR THE SEASONAL
AVERAGE. A HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE LOWER DESERTS
THROUGH SUNDAY WHERE MAXIMUM DAILY TEMPERATURES MAY REACH AS HIGH AS
114 DEGREES F.
THE WEATHER LOOKS TO REMAIN DRY ACROSS SOCAL THROUGH NEXT WEEK AS
THE GENERAL MODEL CONSENSUS IS FOR THE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE TO CUT
OFF ANY FLOW FROM THE SUBTROPICS.
&&
.AVIATION... 172000Z...COAST/VALLEYS...LOW CLOUDS WITH BASES OF 900
TO 1200 FT MSL AND TOPS NEAR 1300 FT MSL WILL LINGER ALONG THE COAST
THROUGH 02Z...ELSEWHERE CLEAR SKIES WILL PREVAIL. KCRQ AND KSAN WILL
BE ON THE EDGE OF THE LOW CLOUDS THIS AFTERNOON...AND MAY SEE CIGS
BOUNCE BETWEEN SCT AND BKN THROUGH 02Z. LOW CLOUDS WILL BEGIN TO
DEVELOP INLAND AFTER 02Z...AND SHOULD REACH 10-15 MILES INLAND BY
12Z THURSDAY. BASES OVERNIGHT WILL BE BETWEEN 700 AND 1000 FT MSL.
AREAS OF 1-3 SM VIS IN BR/HZ/FG WILL OCCUR NEAR AND OVER THE HIGHER
COASTAL TERRAIN THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY. KCRQ HAS THE BEST CHANCE OF
SEEING VIS AOB 3 SM THOUGH 18Z THURSDAY. LOW CLOUDS WILL PULL BACK
TO THE COAST BY 18Z THURSDAY...THEN LINGER AT THE IMMEDIATE COAST
DURING THE AFTERNOON.
MTNS/DESERTS...GUSTY WESTERLY WINDS WILL OCCUR THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING OVER THE DESERTS SLOPES AND THROUGH THE PASSES AND CANYONS.
OTHERWISE MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND UNRESTRICTED VIS WILL PREVAIL
THROUGH THURSDAY.
&&
.MARINE...
100 PM...NO HAZARDOUS MARINE WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
&&
.SKYWARN...
SKYWARN ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM PDT SUNDAY FOR COACHELLA VALLEY-SAN
DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS-SAN GORGONIO PASS NEAR BANNING.
PZ...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC...JAD
AVIATION/MARINE...ALBRIGHTThe 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 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, June 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: 587165.