Lightning caused Sugarloaf Fire is now at 5,057 acres and 65% contained. Most of the active fire is on the northeast edge, where burnout operations continue to secure the fire line.
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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 PDT wrote it up.
Lightning caused Sugarloaf Fire is now at 5,057 acres and 65% contained. Most of the active fire is on the northeast edge, where burnout operations continue to secure the fire line. Heavier fuels in the forested areas are requiring extensive mop up. Firefighters continue to patrol and mop up around structures along Dick Creek Road. The western part of Sugarloaf Fire, Blue Basin Fire, and Schoolhouse Gulch Fire are being patrolled by firefighters.
The forecast for the rest of the week is a concern for fire managers. The forecast calls for continuing hot weather with low humidity and northwest winds gusting 20 to 25 mph. A Fire Weather Watch has been issued for Friday and Saturday due to expected hot, dry weather with wind gusts to 30 mph.
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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 30, 9:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1030 PM PDT TUE JUN 30 2015
.SHORT TERM...CLEAR SKIES OVER THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING INTO
TONIGHT. LOW TEMPS IN THE 50S AND 60S. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WITH A
VERY DRY AIRMASS WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION WEDNESDAY THROUGH
FRIDAY WITH MAINLY CLEAR SKIES. HIGHS WEDNESDAY SIMILAR TO WHAT
WE HAD TODAY. 850MB TEMPS INCREASE A BIT THU AND FRI AND HIGHS
WILL BE 2-5 DEGREES WARMER. EXPECT 100-105 IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN
THESE DAYS AND A HEAT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT. GFS SHOWING AN UPPER
LOW OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WHICH WOULD
INCREASE THE CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS IF THE MODEL VERIFIES WITH
THIS POSITION. 94
.AVIATION...06Z TAFS. CLEAR SKIES THE NEXT 24 HOURS. SURFACE WINDS
5-15KT.
&&
SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY...THE WESTERN U.S. UPPER
LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL REBUILD NORTH INTO THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. THE RIDGE MAY FLATTEN SOME ON
FRIDAY DUE TO AN UPPER TROUGH MOVING INTO WESTERN CANADA. AS A
RESULT EXPECT DRY CONDITIONS WITH INCREASING SUBSIDENCE TO CAP ANY
STRAY MOUNTAIN CONVECTION. THIS INCREASING SUBSIDENCE WILL ALSO
LEAD TO INCREASING TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD. HIGH TEMPS
WILL WARM FIRST FROM THE GORGE SOUTH TO CENTRAL OREGON, WITH SOME
COOLING EXPECTED IN THIS AREA FRIDAY DUE TO AN INITIAL WEAK MARINE
INTRUSION CAUSED BY THE CANADIAN TROUGH. HIGH TEMPS IN THIS AREA
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOONS WILL RUN AROUND 20 DEGREES ABOVE
SEASONAL. THUS HAVE ISSUED HEAT ADVISORIES FOR THE COLUMBIA RIVER
GORGE, NORTH-CENTRAL AND CENTRAL OREGON FOR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING. ELSEWHERE HIGH TEMPS WEDNESDAY WILL BE
SIMILAR TO TODAY, THEN JUMP 3 TO 5 DEGREES THURSDAY. THE WARMEST
TEMPS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL BE ACROSS MUCH OF THE COLUMBIA
BASIN, AND HEAT ADVISORIES HAVE EITHER BEEN EXTENDED OR ADDED IN
THIS AREA INTO FRIDAY EVENING. 90
LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...MODELS ARE NOT IN VERY
GOOD AGREEMENT IN THE LONG TERM WITH THE GFS DEVELOPING MORE OF A
TROUGH OVER THE PACIFIC NW WHILE THE ECMWF MAINTAINS A NARROW RIDGE.
EITHER WAY THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ANY MAJOR STORMS TO AFFECT
THE REGION DURING THE PERIOD. HOWEVER THERE MAY BE VERY ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS DURING THE AFTERNOON AND
EVENING SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. ANY STORMS WOULD POSE A RISK FOR NEW
FIRE STARTS. TEMPERATURES LOOK TO BE SLIGHTLY COOLER WITH AFTERNOON
READINGS NUDGING DOWN SLIGHTLY BELOW THE CENTURY MARK EACH DAY IN
THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. THERE WILL BE PERIODS OF BREEZY WINDS IN THE
CASCADE GAPS DURING THE AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS WHICH COULD POSE A
FIRE WEATHER HAZARD IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OVER THE WEEKEND. 78
FIRE WEATHER...HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE INTERIOR
PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. THERE WILL BE A
WEAK DISTURBANCE THAT WILL PRODUCE BREEZY CONDITIONS OVER THE
COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE AREA ON THURSDAY. WITH THE RIDGE IN PLACE AND
LOW HUMIDITIES IT WILL NOT TAKE MUCH WIND TO REACH CRITICAL FIRE
WEATHER CONDITIONS...THEREFORE A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT
FOR OR/WA639. BY FRIDAY A SURFACE LOW WILL SET UP EAST OF THE
CASCADES AND STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENTS WILL ALLOW FOR CONTINUED
WINDY CONDITIONS...THIS TIME EXPANDING INTO THE
OR610...OR640...AND OR641 AREAS. EXPECT THESE CONDITIONS TO
PERSIST THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING. WEBER
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 67 98 62 102 / 0 0 0 0
ALW 70 99 68 103 / 0 0 0 0
PSC 67 101 63 103 / 0 0 0 0
YKM 66 100 65 101 / 0 0 0 0
HRI 65 101 60 104 / 0 0 0 0
ELN 65 100 60 102 / 0 0 0 0
RDM 57 99 57 101 / 0 0 0 0
LGD 59 94 54 97 / 0 0 0 0
GCD 59 99 59 102 / 0 0 0 0
DLS 67 101 66 102 / 0 0 0 0
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY
EVENING FOR ORZ639.
HEAT ADVISORY FROM NOON WEDNESDAY TO 8 PM PDT THURSDAY FOR
ORZ041-510-511.
FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY
EVENING FOR ORZ610-640-641.
HEAT ADVISORY FROM NOON THURSDAY TO 8 PM PDT FRIDAY FOR ORZ044-
507.
WA...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY
EVENING FOR WAZ639.
HEAT ADVISORY FROM NOON WEDNESDAY TO 8 PM PDT THURSDAY FOR
WAZ024.
HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM PDT FRIDAY FOR WAZ028.
HEAT ADVISORY FROM NOON THURSDAY TO 8 PM PDT FRIDAY FOR WAZ026-
027-029.
&&
FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON
94The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
InciWeb updated that the fire was 100% contained on July 10th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, 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: 583707.