Name: Wildfire in California, July 7 to 8, 2017
Start: 2017-07-07T00:00
End: 2017-07-08T10:00
Location: California

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 STO wrote it up.

High pressure brought high temperatures and very low humidity, further drying fuels and increasing fire danger.

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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 6, 8:04 PM PST, 3 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 6, 8:04 PM PST, 3 hours 56 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Sacramento CA
904 PM PDT Thu Jul 6 2017

.SYNOPSIS...
Hot and dry through the weekend. Isolated thunderstorms possible
near the crest and mainly south of Lake Tahoe each day.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Temperatures are running 5 to 8 degrees warmer this evening than
last night. There is weak flow through the Delta but there are no
low clouds in the Bay Area to help bring significant cooling to
the interior. Temperatures tonight will end up cooling into the
low to mid 60s for the Delta and Sacramento area to the upper 60s
to lower 70s for the north end of the Sacramento Valley. Thermal
belt areas will stay warmer in the low to mid 70s and mountains
valleys will cool off mainly into the 50s.

Temperatures will be even hotter on Friday with 2 to 4 degrees
of warming expected over todays highs. Many highs should top out
around 105 degrees in the valley with the north end of the valley
close to 110 degrees. This will likely be the hottest day of the
next several for the Sacramento area. Isolated thunderstorms will
be possible near the crest from around Alpine County southward in
the afternoon.

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
High pressure ridging is bringing clear skies to much of the area,
except for cumulus clouds building over the Sierra crest to around
Lassen National Park. Some afternoon thunderstorms are developing
along the crest south of Lake Tahoe, then shifting to the
northeast. Storm development will decrease by early evening.
Afternoon thunderstorm activity in that area will be possible into
the weekend.

The high pressure ridge is building, with very warm temperatures.
Current temperatures (as 3 pm) are 103 at Red Bluff, 102 at
Redding, 101 at Vacaville and Stockton, 100 at Sacramento,
Modesto, and Marysville. Temperatures could rise several more
degrees in the next couple hours. Overnight, there will be less
cooling with a weaker Delta breeze.

Friday is expected to be the hottest day of the period, reaching
around 108 in Red Bluff, 105 in Sacramento, 103 for Stockton. The
weekend looks slightly cooler, as the ridge begins to shift
eastward. EK
&&
.EXTENDED DISCUSSION (Monday THROUGH Thursday)

High pressure lingers over the 4 Corners region during the
extended forecast. Monday will still be fairly hot with daytime
highs around 5 degrees above average. Valley temperatures will
peak in the upper 90s to low 100s with mid 70s to mid 90s along
higher terrain and 80s near the Delta. For Tuesday and Wednesday,
an upper level trough will push into the Pacific Northwest and
NorCal allowing for daytime highs to cool to more seasonal
temperatures as we see a drop of a few degrees. Slight chance of
thunderstorms could occur over the Sierra south of Highway 50.
JBB

&&

.AVIATION...

VFR conditions expected next couple days with breezy conditions
through the Delta and light winds at TAF sites (10 kts or less).

&&

.STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.
&&

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Central Sacramento Valley

When: July 7, 12:00 AM PST to July 8, 10:00 AM PST
Where: Central Sacramento Valley forecast zone
Injuries: 0 direct, 6 indirect
Reported by: Fire Department/Rescue

Governor Brown declared a State of Emergency for the Wall Fire, which burned 6033 acres and threatened thousands of homes. There were 6 injuries reported. The number of structures destroyed or damaged by the fire was 101. Cal Fire reported 41 homes were destroyed, and three were damaged. Forty-eight minor structures were destroyed. Seven were damaged. Two commercial structures were also destroyed. There were 4000 mandatory evacuations ordered, with 7400 under an evacuation warning.

Butte County opened a local assistance center at the Oroville Municipal Auditorium for those evacuated.

At the height of the fire, more than 800 customers lost power due to fire damage or lines PG&E de-energized for firefighter safety. About 50 power poles burned. Crews removed 670 fire-damaged trees that posed a threat to power lines or public safety.

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

More

Every storm in California in 2017 Every state in 2017 This day in weather history Warnings in California, July 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: 698876.