A large wildfire burned across the Sheep Creek Range consuming 59,742 acres.
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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 LKN wrote it up.
A large wildfire burned across the Sheep Creek Range consuming 59,742 acres.
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 Elko, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 18, 1:27 PM PST, 34 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Elko NV 227 PM PDT Sat Aug 18 2018 .SYNOPSIS...Sunny but smoky and warm this weekend. Winds increase across the region Monday afternoon, with some isolated thunderstorms across far eastern Nevada Monday afternoon and evening. && .SHORT TERM...Tonight through Monday. Large southwest ridge with northeast Pacific short wave is the current situation. Short wave closes as it moved southeast toward the northern Great Basin in the short term. Sunny, but smoky, through the period, with very outside chance of storms Monday for most of eastern Nevada. Pockets of scattered storms along the Utah line. Storms will be on the wet side along the border, but dry further west. Temps warmer than normal, again. .LONG TERM...Monday night through next Saturday Monday night through Wednesday. High pressure over the southwest US will continue to weaken in response to the the next Pacific trough moving onshore Monday night. Lingering moisture on Tuesday and Wednesday combined with instability could be enough to set off isolated dry thunderstorms in extreme eastern NV both Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. Thursday through Saturday. Trough lifts out of the area and the ridge flattens with zonal flow expected across the region. This will promote dry conditions. Expect gusty winds each afternoon Tuesday through Friday with lighter winds Saturday. && .AVIATION...Smoke/haze lingers over WMC, BAM, & EKO through the period, could reduce visibilities below 6SM mainly in the morning. Sfc winds should be out of the S-SW 5-10 mph by afternoon with some gusts above 15 mph at times. No threat of thunderstorms at any site. && .FIRE WEATHER...Hot and dry through Sunday, then increasing Monday clouds over especially eastern Nevada. Isolated storms form Monday along the Utah line and west into mainly zones 469, 470, 455, and eastern 457. A few pockets of scattered storms along the Utah line. Most storms will be mixed wet and dry, with dry storms further west. Monday afternoon winds will pick up in zones 455 and 457 but RH's will be high enough that critical conditions will likely NOT be met. Will need to keep and eye on the forecast models and conditions. && .LKN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 98/89/89/98
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The fire burned 59,789 acres across the Sheep Creek Range. Two firefighters were burned over sustaining injuries.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, August 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: 776719.