Wildfire in Oregon, September 1 to 3, 2015

Name: Wildfire in Oregon, September 1 to 3, 2015
Start: 2015-09-01T00:00
End: 2015-09-03T00:00
Location: Oregon

September 1 to 3, 2015 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The County line 2 fire, started on Wednesday the 12th, in the afternoon. It started along Hwy 26, with multiple starts, on both sides of the Highway.

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

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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 PDT wrote it up.

The County line 2 fire, started on Wednesday the 12th, in the afternoon. It started along Hwy 26, with multiple starts, on both sides of the Highway. With the weather conditions at the time, these fires quickly exceeded the capabilities of the local resources, and their mutual aid. The State Fire Marshals office, sent their Blue Management Team, along with 8 task force contingents, to help with structure protection. Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team#1, was also ordered, for the wild land component. It is a Unified Command between the two teams. This fire has gone through changing levels of evacuations, and numerous challenges.

Wednesday August 19, 2015 at 0600, the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Blue Team, and all remaining task forces assigned to them were released from this fire. Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team #1, with Incident Commander Shawn Sheldon, will be remaining to be in command of the fire.

Thursday September 3, 2015, at 0600, Incident Command was transferred to a Type 3 team, with Dorian Soliz, as Incident Commander.

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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 31, 9:54 PM PST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 9:54 PM PST, 2 hours 6 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1054 PM PDT MON AUG 31 2015

UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...SATELLITE WATER
VAPOR IMAGERY LOOP SHOWS A LONG WAVE TROUGH CENTERED ALONG 130W
WITH A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES MOVING THROUGH THE LONG WAVE
MID/UPPER LEVEL CYCLONIC CIRCULATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE LONG WAVE
TROUGH. THE FIRST ONE MOVING THROUGH SOUTHERN BC IS DRAGGING MID
AND HIGH CLOUDS ACROSS THE CWA THIS EVENING. ANOTHER ONE IS POISED
TO ROUND THE BASE OF THE LONG WAVE TROUGH NEAR 131W AND HAS A
DRIER AIR MASS ASSOCIATED WITH IT, AND YET ANOTHER ONE, THE
STRONGEST BY FAR, NEAR 57N/141W IN THE EASTERN GULF OF ALASKA. THE
LAST DISTURBANCE WILL DROP DOWN THE WESTERN FLANK OF THE LONG WAVE
TROUGH OVER THE NEXT 36 HOURS, THUS DIGGING THE LONG WAVE TROUGH
FARTHER SOUTH AND ALLOWING WEAK DYNAMIC LIFT TO ENTER THE FORECAST
AREA ON WEDNESDAY IN COMBINATION WITH OROGRAPHIC LIFT OVER THE
HIGHER MOUNTAINS FOR A CHANCE OF SHOWERS DURING THE DAY ON
WEDNESDAY IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS AND ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE
CASCADES. DRY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST ELSEWHERE FOR TONIGHT
THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.  POLAN

.AVIATION...06Z TAFS...VFR CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR WITH DRY WESTERLY
FLOW ALOFT AND ONLY SCT-BKN200 CLOUDS AND LIGHT SFC WINDS OVERNIGHT.
SKIES WILL CLEAR BY MIDDAY ON TUESDAY FOLLOWED BY SCT200-250 LATE IN
THE AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL BE VERY LIGHT FOR REMAINDER OF TONIGHT AT
KRDM AND KBDN WITH WINDS AROUND 10 KTS AT KDLS. THE REST OF THE TAF
SITES WILL HAVE DRAINAGE WINDS OF 5-10 KTS OVERNIGHT. WINDS INCREASE
LATE TUESDAY MORNING, BECOMING 10-15 KTS WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 20 KTS
BY 19Z AND THESE WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON, THEN
SLOWLY DECREASING AFTER SUNSET.  POLAN

&&

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 212 PM PDT MON AUG 31 2015/

SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY...A BROAD UPPER LEVEL
TROUGH OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WITH A WESTERLY FLOW WILL KEEP
MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA DRY EXCEPT FOR SOME SHOWERS ALONG THE
CASCADE CREST THROUGH TUESDAY. THEN SOME ENERGY DROPPING INTO THE
TROUGH WILL LEAD TO THE TROUGH DIGGING SOUTHWARD TUESDAY NIGHT AND
WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL PUSH A COLD FRONT TROUGH THE FORECAST AREA WITH
A BAND OF PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH IT TUESDAY NIGHT AND
WEDNESDAY. THE PRECIPITATION IS LIKELY TO SKIP OVER THE LOWER
ELEVATIONS BUT THE MOUNTAINS COULD END UP SEEING SOME LIGHT
ACCUMULATIONS. BY THURSDAY THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS SETTLING OVER
THE REGION BUT THERE IS SOME MODEL UNCERTAINTY. HAVE INDICATED A
TREND TOWARDS MORE SHOWER ACTIVITY THURSDAY BELIEVING THE INCREASED
INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH WILL LEAD TO A BETTER CHANCE
OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA. HIGH TEMPERATURES
WILL BEGIN TO COOL ON WEDNESDAY AND BY THURSDAY WILL BE 10 TO 15
DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.

LONG TERM...THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...ACTIVE WEATHER
PATTERN THROUGH PERIOD AND MODELS NOT IN AGREEMENT BEGINNING
SUNDAY. UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE AREA TO DROP SOUTH FROM BC INTO PAC
NW ON FRIDAY. THAT MUCH MODELS AGREE UPON.  THIS WILL BRING
UNSETTLED...COOLER...AND SHOWERY CONDITIONS INTO ALL AREAS FOR
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. ENOUGH INSTABILITY FOR THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY.
BY SUNDAY...GFS OPENS UPPER LOW INTO A WAVE AND EJECTS INTO IDAHO AND
MONTANA...WHILE GFS/CANADIAN HAVE STRONG JET LEVEL WINDS DIVING
SOUTH ON WEST SIDE OF LOW AND KEEPING IT ANCHORED OVER SOUTHERN
OREGON FOR ABOUT 12-18 HOURS LONGER BEFORE MOVING EAST.
SO WITH THIS IN MIND I HAVE KEPT CHANCE POPS GOING LONGER ACROSS
EASTERN ZONES...ESPECIALLY WALLOWA COUNTY TO ACCOUNT FOR POSSIBLE
WRAPAROUND MOISTURE AFTER LOW MOVES INTO ID/MT. IF EC/CANADIAN
MODELS PROVE CORRECT...SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION COULD OCCUR.  FOR
NOW WILL JUST INCREASE POPS UNTIL MODELS COME INTO AGREEMENT.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT  52  79  55  72 /   0   0  20  20
ALW  59  80  60  75 /   0   0  20  20
PSC  58  83  58  76 /   0   0  10  10
YKM  51  75  51  71 /  10  10  10  10
HRI  55  81  57  75 /   0   0  10  10
ELN  53  77  52  71 /  10  10  20  20
RDM  42  78  46  70 /   0   0  10  10
LGD  48  82  48  71 /   0   0  10  20
GCD  46  85  48  72 /   0   0  10  20
DLS  59  80  58  75 /   0  10  20  20

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...NONE.
WA...NONE.
&&

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON

99/91/79

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Central Oregon

When: September 1, 12:00 AM PST to September 3, 12:00 AM PST
Where: Central Oregon forecast zone
Reported by: Park/Forest Service
Coordinates: 44.229, -120.920 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Inciweb.

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 Oregon in 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, September 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: 594404.