The Withers Wildfire, which was human caused, started at 1415 PDT on 08/17/16. As of 25/0430 PST, the fire covered 3424 acres and was 90% contained.
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 MFR wrote it up.
The Withers Wildfire, which was human caused, started at 1415 PDT on 08/17/16. As of 25/0430 PST, the fire covered 3424 acres and was 90% contained. 1.6 million dollars had been spent on firefighting efforts.
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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 17, 10:20 AM PST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Medford OR
1120 AM PDT WED AUG 17 2016
.Updated aviation discussion.
.UPDATE...Cloud cover along the coast and offshore is
significantly less extensive than yesterday morning, with the
Coquille and other valleys north of Cape Blanco the only
locations seeing low clouds and/or fog this morning. This should
burn off quickly through the next several hours.
Today will be the last day of cooler temperatures, in the loosest
sense of the term, as highs should make it to just above normal
for this time of year. The heat will pour on in earnest starting
tomorrow and persist through Saturday and perhaps Sunday as well,
with triple digits very common across the region. The heat
advisory remains in effect for all inland valleys of the west
side. Long term models are suggesting cooler temperatures early
next week, so there is hope for relief.
For more information, see the previous discussion below. -BPN
&&
.AVIATION...18/18Z TAF cycle...Coastal stratus has cleared from the
coast, though there is still a cloud layer offshore, and we expect
IFR conditions to return to the coast later this afternoon. Cloud
bases will lower overnight, so LIFR conditions are expected at the
coast north of Cape Blanco late tonight. Recent models show north to
northeast winds of 25-35 knot re-developing along the coast this
afternoon and evening.
Inland, VFR conditions are expected to persist through the TAF
period with isolated afternoon thunderstorms east of the Cascades
and in Northern California. SK
&&
.MARINE...Updated 830 AM PDT, Wednesday 17 Aug 2016...The thermal
trough along the coast will continue to produce strong and gusty
north winds and very steep wind driven seas through Wednesday
night. The gales and hazardous seas will continue in the typical
areas south of Cape Blanco and 8-40 nm away from shore. For the
near shore waters inside of 10 nm from shore, winds will
strengthen in the afternoon and evening hours. These strong windy
conditions will continue up until Thursday morning then winds will
gradually lower. Eventually, an upper level low will move in and
break down the thermal trough Thursday evening and Friday. /FB
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...Updated 230 AM PDT Wednesday 17 August 2016...
Northeast flow will be present over the coastal mountains again and
as a dry airmass aloft gradually descends, humidity recoveries are
expected to be moderate at best. The Red Flag Warning continues for
areas of the southern Oregon coast above 1500 feet for low humidities
and strong northeast winds. For California, the strongest winds will
be in Del Norte County; but portions of western Siskiyou county are
on the cusp of critical fire weather conditions. Due to very
receptive fuels, the Red Flag Warning continues for areas above 3500
feet in western Siskiyou county.
Otherwise, it will remain hot and dry with typical afternoon breezes
through the remainder of the week. It will get quite hot by Thursday
and Friday with near record heat. Any isolated thunderstorm chances
will be slight and generally confined to the far eastern and
southern fire zones. At night, weak to moderate offshore flow will
continue to produce poor to moderate recoveries over the mountains,
especially the coastal ranges. /FB
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /Issued 403 AM PDT WED AUG 17 2016/
DISCUSSION...It was hot on Tuesday and a few evening thunderstorms
east of the Cascades produced very little rainfall and a little
more than a dozen lightning strikes. A weak amount of instability
today and Thursday will be similar to that of yesterday while
temperatures today will be generally a degree or 2 cooler than
yesterday ahead of near record to record breaking highs inland
that are expected Thursday through the weekend.
A red flag warning remains in effect for the remainder of this
morning with gusty offshore winds and poor humidity recovery over
the coastal ridges and the mountains in western Siskiyou County.
Also, a heat advisory (see NPWMFR for details) remains in effect
for Thursday through Saturday for inland valleys west of the
Cascades. Both afternoon highs and overnight lows will be well
above normal through that period with west side valley highs in
the triple digits and lows in the 60s. It will not be quite as hot
in the mountains and on the east side of the Cascades but
readings will be above normal to about the same extent. One would
need to go to the coast to find noticeable relief.
The portion of northern California and south central Oregon
with a mention of a slight chance of thunderstorms this afternoon
and evening was expanded slightly. As on Tuesday, storms will
produce very little rainfall...form over the higher terrain and
move slowly. The region of instability is expected to shift south
to southeast with the highest probability of development over the
mountains of southern Siskiyou County and southeast Modoc County.
The scenario on Thursday looks like it will be quite similar.
Stability will increase on Friday with a ridge building east into
our area and producing strong heating at the surface and aloft. Early
next week...the air mass will remain stable while temperatures
will scale back from dangerously hot to merely hot. Modest cooling
of 3 to 5 degrees is expected Saturday night and Sunday with a
similar daily change on Monday and again on Tuesday.
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Heat Advisory from 11 AM Thursday to 2 AM PDT Sunday for
ORZ023>026.
Red Flag Warning until 9 AM PDT this morning for ORZ618-619.
CA...Heat Advisory from 11 AM Thursday to 2 AM PDT Sunday for
CAZ080-081.
Red Flag Warning until 9 AM PDT this morning for CAZ280.
Pacific Coastal Waters...Small Craft Advisory until 11 AM PDT Thursday for
PZZ350-356-370-376.
Gale Warning until 11 AM PDT Thursday for PZZ356-376.
Hazardous Seas Warning until 11 AM PDT Thursday for PZZ356-376.
BPN/DW/FJBThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Withers Wildfire, which was human caused, started at 1415 PDT on 08/17/16. As of 25/0430 PST, the fire covered 3424 acres and was 90% contained. 1.6 million dollars had been spent on firefighting efforts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, August 2016
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: 645270.