Wildfire in California, September 1 to 24, 2017

Name: Wildfire in California, September 1 to 24, 2017
Start: 2017-09-01T00:00
End: 2017-09-24T13:00
Location: California

September 1 to 24, 2017 · NWS HNX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 5
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 human caused Pier Fire began in the early morning hours of August 29, 2017 when a stolen car was set on fire and pushed off a cliff along Highway 190, 7 miles east of Springville, CA. The fire burned 36,556 acres before being contained on September 24, 2017. There were mandatory evacuations for the small communities of Camp Nelson, Pierpoint Springs, Cedar Slope, Sequoia Crest, Rogers Camp, Doyle Springs, Mountain Aire and Wishon for several weeks. Much of Highway 190 between Springville and Ponderosa was closed to traffic. There were 2 structures lost. Cost of containment was $38.76 million.

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 31, 3:18 PM PST, 8 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 3:18 PM PST, 8 hours 42 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA
418 PM PDT Thu Aug 31 2017

...UPDATED AIR QUALITY SECTION...

.SYNOPSIS...Temperatures will remain above normal through at
least the middle of next week. Showers and thunderstorms will be
possible in the mountains each day mainly in the afternoon and
evening.

&&

.DISCUSSION...An upper trough which pushed through Norcal earlier
today will track west toward the Great Basin tonight and Friday.
Some mid level moisture was pulled up front Socal ahead of the
trough brushed the Kern County Mountains and Deserts with some
showers this morning and is now pushing into southern NV.
Meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms have developed near the crest
of the Southern Sierra Nevada with daytime heating as a result of
residual moisture in place along with sufficient instability and
CAPE. While temperatures have cooled by quite a bit over the Kern
County Deserts from yday with the trough passage, temperatures are
running fairly close to Wednesday's reading at this time although
highs will likely be a few degrees higher today in the San
Joaquin Valley and southern Sierra foothills as sunshine has been
more abundant today.

WRF continuing to show upper level high pressure building east
into the PAC NW and Norcal on Friday and Saturday which will
result in a return of near record heat as heights and thicknesses
rise. Previous shift issued an Excessive Heat Warning for the San
Joaquin Valley, southern Sierra foothills and the Kern County
Mountains below 5000 feet and this looks to be on track as highs
will be 8 to 14 DEG F above normal for early September for these
areas through the period. Showers and thunderstorms will be
possible mainly in the afternoon and early evening over the
Southern Sierra Nevada each day and over the Kern County mountains
and Deserts through Friday.

The medium range models are consistent in moving the ridge east
into the Great Basin on Sunday and Labor Day with an easterly
flow prevailing over our area from the weekend into the early
portion of next week. Am confident that daytime temperatures will
lower by several degrees by Labor Day, but will remain above
seasonal normals. The forecast problem for early next week will be
if any moisture from Tropical Storm Lidia currently just south of
Baja near 22.5N/110W. Current NHC prognosis indicates this system
will track northwest over the Baja peninsula through Saturday
then weaken into a tropical depression and turn west near 30N then
continue to drift west through the middle of next week. At his
time we have included at least a slight chance of showers and
thunderstorms for the mountains and Kern County Deserts for each
day from Labor Day through the middle of next week. However, if
moisture from this system surges further northward than currently
anticipated precipitation chances might need to be increased and
included over the San Joaquin Valley and southern Sierra
foothills. Later shifts will need to continue to monitor this
feature.

&&

.AVIATION...Areas of smoke are possible Near Yosemite National Park
as well as the Sierra south of Kings Canyon in association with
wildfires. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected
over the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains as well as
the Kern County Deserts. Otherwise VFR conditions can be expected
over much of the central CA interior during the next 24 hours.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
Please see SFOAQAHNX for an Air Quality Alert

On Friday September 1 2017... Unhealthy for sensitive groups in
Fresno... Kern... Kings... Madera... Merced and Tulare Counties
and Sequoia National Park and Forest. Further information is
available at Valleyair.org

&&

.CERTAINTY...

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

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 from 11 AM Friday to 9 PM PDT Sunday
CAZ089>095.

Heat Advisory until 9 PM PDT this evening BELOW 5000 FEET FOR
CAZ095.

Heat Advisory until 9 PM PDT this evening CAZ089>094.

&&

public...DS
avn/fw...DS
synopsis...DS

weather.gov/hanford

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Tulare Cty Mtns

When: September 1, 12:00 AM PST to September 24, 1:00 PM PST
Where: Tulare Cty Mtns forecast zone
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

The human caused Pier Fire began in the early morning hours of August 29, 2017 when a stolen car was set on fire and pushed off a cliff along Highway 190, 7 miles east of Springville, CA. The fire burned 36,556 acres before being contained on September 24, 2017. There were mandatory evacuations for many small communities for several weeks and Highway 190 between Springville and Ponderosa was closed to traffic. There were 2 structures lost.

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, September 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: 718319.