The Grizzly Bear Complex is in Washington and is comprised of thirteen lightning fires burning in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness near Twin Buttes Trail, Grizzly Bear Ridge and north of the Washington/Oregon Border.
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 PDT wrote it up.
The Grizzly Bear Complex is in Washington and is comprised of thirteen lightning fires burning in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness near Twin Buttes Trail, Grizzly Bear Ridge and north of the Washington/Oregon Border.
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 13, 9:35 AM PST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1035 AM PDT THU AUG 13 2015
UPDATED AVIATION
.SHORT TERM...UPPER LOW REMAINS OFFSHORE TODAY. SATELLITE SHOWING
CLEAR SKIES OVER THE REGION THIS MORNING WITH THE EXCEPTION OF
SMOKE LAYERS AT VARIOUS HEIGHTS. 850MB TEMPS INDICATE HIGH
TEMPERATURES TODAY SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY. MOST LOCATIONS WILL BE IN
THE 90S WITH 100-105 IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN. WEAK INSTABILITY THIS
AFTERNOON MAY GENERATE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN OVER THE MOUNTAINS.
THE UPPER LOW MOVES INLAND TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. THIS WILL RESULT IN
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE WEATHER. MAIN IMPACT WILL BE INCREASING
WINDS. GUSTY WESTERLY WINDS OF 20-35 MPH IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN
FRIDAY WILL LIKELY CAUSE SOME BLOWING DUST. TEMPERATURES WILL BE
MUCH COOLER WITH HIGHS IN THE 70S AND 80S. THE LOW WILL ALSO INCREASE
CLOUD COVER AND THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS ALTHOUGH CURRENT TRACK OF
THIS SYSTEM INDICATES MOST OF THE PRECIP WILL BE TO OUR NORTHWEST. 94
.AVIATION...18Z TAFS. VFR TO PREVAIL WITH AREAS OF HZ ACROSS THE
AREA. AFTER 08Z WILL SEE A PUSH OF COOLER MARINE AIR WITH CIGS AOA
10K AND INCREASING WEST WINDS AFTER 14Z.
79
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 410 AM PDT THU AUG 13 2015...UPDATED/
SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY...A DEEP SOUTHERLY FLOW AHEAD
OF AN UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE OREGON/CALIFORNIA COAST IS
PULLING MID LEVEL MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY NORTHWARD INTO THE CWA.
THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON WHICH WILL
ALLOW FOR CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL FIRST BEGIN OVER THE NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS AND
ALONG THE CASCADE EAST SLOPES AND THEN SLOWLY EXPAND IN COVERAGE
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. EXPECT ANOTHER HOT DAY WITH
TEMPERATURES AROUND THE CENTURY MARK AGAIN IN THE LOWEST
ELEVATIONS...WITH 80S AND 90S IN THE MOUNTAINS. THERE MAY BE SOME
COOLING IN THE AFTERNOON IN THE EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE AS
WESTERLY PRESSURE GRADIENTS TIGHTEN UP AHEAD OF A MARINE PUSH.
DRIER...MORE STABLE AND COOLER AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION
BEGINNING FRIDAY WITH MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES. THERE WILL ALSO BE
BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS IN THE EASTERN COLUMBIA GORGE BY THIS
EVENING. THE COMBINATION OF WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY MAY
RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE CONDITIONS IN THE BASIN AREAS. IT WILL
DEPEND OF HOW MUCH THE HUMIDITY RISES WITH THE MARINE PUSH IF IT
MEETS CRITERIA. CURRENTLY THERE IS A FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR FRIDAY
FOR THIS SCENARIO. FOR MORE DETAILS PLEASE READ THE FIRE WEATHER
DISCUSSION BELOW. 88
LONG TERM...SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY. NO MAJOR WEATHER
CONCERNS ARE ANTICIPATED DURING THE LONG TERM PERIOD. IT WILL BE A
PLEASANT WEEKEND FOR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES AS THE PACIFIC NW WILL BE
INFLUENCED BY A DRY WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEAR
NORMAL WITH HIGHS IN THE MID 70S TO UPPER 80S AND WINDS GENERALLY
LIGHT. MONDAY WILL BE A LITTLE WARMER BUT CONTINUED DRY. MODELS
HAVE CONSISTENTLY ADVERTISED A SHORTWAVE TROUGH DIVING SOUTH FROM
THE B.C. COAST AND ACROSS WA/OR MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...BUT THERE
HAVE BEEN DIFFERENCES ON THE POSITION AND TIMING. 00Z CANADIAN IS
CONSIDERABLY FASTER THAN THE ECMWF AND GFS...AND THE GFS IS FASTER
THAN THE ECMWF. DESPITE THE DIFFERENCES...IT APPEARS MAINLY AS A
DRY COLD FRONT THAT WILL BRING BREEZY WINDS ON TUESDAY BUT LITTLE TO
NO CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION. WISTER
FIRE WEATHER...STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES ARE EXPECTED ON
FRIDAY. LOW PRESSURE MOVING THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST ON FRIDAY
WILL CREATE TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENTS AND STRONG WINDS OF 25 TO 35
MPH ARE ANTICIPATED IN THE COLUMBIA GORGE AND COLUMBIA BASIN OF
WASHINGTON AND OREGON. RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL RISE TO 25 TO 35
PERCENT BUT THE WINDS WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO CREATE THE
POSSIBILITY OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 99 64 82 53 / 10 20 20 10
ALW 101 69 85 56 / 10 20 20 10
PSC 102 66 87 55 / 10 20 20 10
YKM 100 63 82 50 / 10 30 40 20
HRI 101 67 85 54 / 10 20 20 10
ELN 101 64 77 51 / 10 40 50 20
RDM 95 53 77 42 / 10 20 20 10
LGD 98 58 84 48 / 10 20 20 10
GCD 98 56 84 43 / 10 10 20 10
DLS 98 65 80 55 / 10 30 40 10
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING
FOR ORZ639-641.
WA...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING
FOR WAZ639-641-675.
&&
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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, August 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: 587962.