A fire broke out near Lake Berryessa in Napa County on July 28th. Due to the fire being located in a densely populated area, evacuations were issued.
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 MTR wrote it up.
A fire broke out near Lake Berryessa in Napa County on July 28th. Due to the fire being located in a densely populated area, evacuations were issued. The fire was contained on August 2nd after burning 135 acres, destroying 8 structures, and damaging 4.
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 San Francisco Bay Area, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 28, 1:21 PM PST, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area
221 PM PDT Sat Jul 28 2018
.SYNOPSIS...Very warm inland temperatures will continue through
the weekend while onshore flow and a steady marine layer will
keep the coast and bayside locations at seasonable norms. High
pressure will keep things dry, as warm temperatures continue
inland. Milder weather will persist near the coast through mid
week next week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...as of 1:35 PM PDT Saturday...Skies are sunny across
the district except for the far western portion of the San
Francisco Peninsula, and around the Monterey Bay from about
Capitola south through the Monterey Peninsula where coastal low
clouds ramain. Temperatures are running similar to yesterday at
this time with 60s near the coast and 80s and 90s inland. The
marine layer is still hovering around 1500 feet, and the surface
pressure gradients remain onshore, with 2.4 mb between SFO and
SAC, and 5.2 from SFO to LAS. Expect low clouds to reform near the
coast and spread inland again overnight, same as last night.
The upper ridge will begin to slightly weaken and edge ever so slightly
eastward beginning on Sunday. This will result in slightly cooler
high temperatures inland. The upper ridge isn't really expected to
really weaken until after next weekend when an upper trough
approaches the coast pushing the ridge east of California.
&&
.AVIATION...as of 11:19 AM PDT Saturday...IFR/MVFR cigs are
observed this morning along the coast and around the bays, gradual
clearing back to the coast can seen on visible imagery. However,
northern California wildfire smoke aloft is drifting southward
into the Bay Area as seen on satellite and area web cams, the
visibility is reduced as viewed from the Lick Observatory web cam
on Mount Hamilton. KSJC reports a smoke and haze layer with sct
at 6 thousand feet. KSTS metar observation shows VFR borderline
MVFR reduced visibility due to smoke, elsewhere horizontal
visibilities generally appear ok. Slant range visibilities are
likely to be reduced at sunset today and again Sunday morning at
sunrise.
With little change in marine layer depth and persistent mid-upper
level ridging and subsidence, onshore winds particularly robust
later today and again later Sunday will tend to bring stratus and
fog back inland beginning each evening.
Also of note, mid level convection can be seen firing up approx
300 miles southwest of San Diego in the last couple hours. Using
the GFS and ECMWF models for nearer term changes in 700-500 mb RH
it'll turn increasingly humid in this layer over our forecast area
tonight through Sunday; tafs have sct-bkn-ovc120 to 200. Infrared
imagery shows the northernmost extent of convective clouds /mid
level altocumulus clouds likely/ with little to no significant cloud
top cooling in this specific batch of clouds that have reached as
far north as Point Conception.
Vicinity of KSFO...Moderate to high confidence VFR today into this
evening. Westerly winds increasing this afternoon with gusts to near
25 knots until 04z in the evening. Low confidence VFR holds tonight,
borderline BKN cig possible late, but for now holding with scattered
800 feet and otherwise increasing mid-high level clouds.
SFO Bridge Approach...Similar to KSFO.
Monterey Bay Terminals...Plenty of stratus clouds over the Monterey
Bay with cigs gradually clearing into the afternoon. Eddy circulation
developing over the bay may keep the stratus clouds close by Marina
with an early evening return likely KMTR and KSNS. IFR cigs tonight
and Sunday morning. VFR returns Sunday morning.
&&
.MARINE...as of 2:21 PM PDT Saturday...High pressure over the
eastern Pacific and a thermal trough over the California interior
will keep gusty northwest winds going over the coastal waters
through the weekend and into next week. Gusty onshore winds will
develop each afternoon and evening north of the Bay Bridge to the
Delta. Swells will be light to moderate through the forecast
period.
&&
.MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.Tngt...SCA...Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 0-10 nm
SCA...Pt Reyes to Pigeon Pt 0-10 nm
SCA...Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 0-10 nm
SCA...Pt Pinos to Pt Piedras Blancas 0-10 nm
SCA...Pt Arena to Pigeon Pt 10-60 nm
SCA...Pigeon Pt to Pt Piedras Blancas 10-60 nm
SCA...SF Bay until 9 PM
&&
PUBLIC FORECAST: Sims
AVIATION/MARINE: Canepa
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www.youtube.com/nwsbayarea1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Steele Fire began on July 28th and was contained on August 2nd. Eight structures were destroyed and 4 were damaged http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2184.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 2018
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: 772800.