Wildfire in California, August 29 to 31, 2017

Name: Wildfire in California, August 29 to 31, 2017
Start: 2017-08-29T12:00
End: 2017-08-31T23:59
Location: California

August 29 to 31, 2017 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

75 miles north of Oakhurst, just south of Yosemite National Park near the community of Sugar Pine. The fire spread rapidly in dry brush.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 6
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 HNX wrote it up.

The Railroad Fire started on the afternoon of August 29, 2017, west of Highway 41, 8.75 miles north of Oakhurst, just south of Yosemite National Park near the community of Sugar Pine. The fire spread rapidly in dry brush. Highway 41 between Oakhurst and the south entrance of Yosemite National Park was closed in both directions for about a week with several small communities evacuated, including Tenaya Lodge that serves visitors to Yosemite. The fire burned 12,407 acres before being contained on September 15, 2017. Cost of containment was $20.8 million. There were 17 structures destroyed, including a historic locomotive that wasn’t being used, as well as a passenger car, snowplow, side dump car and refrigerator car that were attached to it that were part of the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. More than 200 wooden railroad ties also burned. The fire also burned into the Nelder Grove of Giant Sequoia trees.

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 Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 29, 3:19 AM PST, 8 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 29, 3:19 AM PST, 8 hours 41 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA
419 AM PDT Tue Aug 29 2017

.SYNOPSIS...A strong ridge of high pressure centered over the
Great Basin will bring near record heat to much of the central
California interior again today. Isolated thunderstorms will
occur over the high Sierra the next two afternoons and will
include the Kern county mountains and desert Wednesday and
Thursday. Temperatures will remain well above normal through
Labor Day weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...A southerly flow aloft is bringing some mid level
moisture into the central California interior this morning.
This moisture is coming up around the western periphery of a very
strong upper level ridge of high pressure centered over the Great
Basin. As the atmosphere heats up today, this moisture will help
fuel isolated showers and thunderstorms over the mountains this
afternoon, primarily north of Kern county. Now that this monsoonal
moisture is here, it will linger for another couple of days and
bring a threat of isolated afternoon and evening thunderstorms
to much of the higher terrain, including the desert, tomorrow and
Thursday.

The big weather story, however, will continue to be the heat. It
will challenge high temperature records in many locations today
and might be the hottest August 29th since 1915 in places like
Fresno and Bakersfield. We'll get a slight reprieve from the heat
tomorrow and Thursday as a weak upper level trough treks eastward
through the Pacific Northwest. The trough will turn winds aloft
to a more westerly direction by late tonight. Otherwise, there
won't be much if any change in the the air mass over the central
California interior during midweek, except that high temperatures
will be a few degrees lower than they've been lately and finally
out of record territory Wednesday and Thursday.

Once the upper level trough exits into the northern Rockies,
another very strong upper level ridge will move in behind it.
The models forecast this ridge to settle in over the Great Basin
this weekend and remain there for many days thereafter. That
means we can expect a return of excessive heat as early as Friday
with a continuation of very hot weather through next Tuesday. In
the meantime, the weather will become more active over the
tropics. The models have been consisently forecasting a tropical
cyclone to be near the southern tip of Baja toward the end of
this week. Although a strong high pressure ridge over the Western
U.S. should block tropical moisture from coming this far north,
we'll still need to keep our eyes on this moisture since light
southeasterly winds aloft will prevail during the holiday weekend.

&&

.AVIATION...Areas of smoke are possible Near Yosemite National Park
in association with the South Fork Wildfire. Isolated thunderstorms
can be expected between 19z today and 03z Wednesday over the Sierra
southward into the Kern county mountains near Lake Isabella. Otherwise
VFR conditions can be expected over much of the central CA interior
during the next 24 hours.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
Please see the SFOAQAHNX for an Air Quality Alert issued by
the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the
Mariposa County Air Pollution Control District.

On Tuesday August 29 2017... Unhealthy in Fresno... Kern and
Madera Counties. Unhealthy for sensitive groups in Kings... Merced
and Tulare Counties. Further information is available at
Valleyair.org

&&

.CERTAINTY...

The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is high.
The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is high.

Certainty levels include low...medium...and high. Please visit
www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.php for additional information
an/or to provide feedback.

&&

.HNX Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
Excessive Heat Warning until 9 PM PDT this evening BELOW 5000
FEET FOR THE CAZ095.

Excessive Heat Warning until 9 PM PDT this evening CAZ089>094.

Excessive Heat Warning until 9 PM PDT Wednesday CAZ098-099.

&&

public...Durfee
avn/fw...Andersen
synopsis...Durfee

weather.gov/hanford

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, S Sierra Mtns

When: August 29, 12:00 PM PST to August 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: S Sierra Mtns forecast zone
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

The Railroad Fire started just near the community of Sugar Pine along Highway 41, 8.75 miles north of Oakhurst. This area is just south of Yosemite National Park. It spread rapidly, destroying 17 structures, including at least 5 homes, a historic locomotive and the passenger car, snowplow, side dump car and refrigerator car that were attached to it. The fire also burned into the Nelder Grove of Giant Sequoia trees, threatening significant damage.

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 California in 2017 Every state in 2017 This day in weather history Warnings in California, August 2017

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: 718304.