A wildfire that was likely ignited by humans, burned in the extreme northeast corner of Utah near the intersection of the Utah, Wyoming and Colorado borders.
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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 GJT wrote it up.
A wildfire that was likely ignited by humans, burned in the extreme northeast corner of Utah near the intersection of the Utah, Wyoming and Colorado borders.
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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 2, 3:53 PM MST, 4 hours 7 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 453 PM MDT Sun Sep 2 2018 .SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Monday night) Issued at 200 PM MDT Sun Sep 2 2018 A rather messy pattern consisting of light southwesterly flow aloft, easterly flow in the mid-levels, and nearly stationary winds near the surface has developed over the western slope of the Rockies this Sunday afternoon. This flow pattern will continue through the evening, and convection will tend to drift generally westerly and move off higher terrain before dissipating after dark. Short term CAM guidance indicated a rather abrupt end to shower and thunderstorm activity once daytime heating is lost. Without any meaningful upper-level support, a mainly dry overnight is expected. On Monday, slightly more organization to thunderstorm activity is expected. Support for this forecast can be found in a careful analysis of 500mb flow and vorticity progs. The GFS, NAM, ECMWF, and most of the short-term guidance all indicate a weak vort-max moving northward from New Mexico into southern/central Colorado by mid- afternoon. Increases in both thunderstorm coverage and intensity are expected as a result of this system, despite similar instability and PWAT values on Monday as were seen on Sunday afternoon. This vort- max pivots north and eastward through the evening and thunderstorm activity is again expected to diminish quickly after sunset. With clouds and thunderstorm activity common in the short term, temperatures will run 2-4 degrees below seasonal normals. Temperatures were adjusted downward in this forecast package and reflect more of a bias-corrected consensus MOS forecast. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday through Sunday) Issued at 200 PM MDT Sun Sep 2 2018 Another day of muddled mid and upper-level flow is expected on Tuesday as a split-jet regime remains in place over the western CONUS. Lingering moisture trapped over the central Rockies will result in afternoon showers and thunderstorms but without any organization aloft, activity will be more pulse- oriented and will favor the higher terrain. Some semblance of westerly flow returns to the Rockies by Wednesday and Thursday as the subtropical jet pulls northward. An uptick in convective activity is expected on Wednesday, however by Thursday some dry air begins to work in from the west. An early look at the weekend forecast indicates a mainly dry forecast from Friday through Sunday. The only caveat to this may be a weak boundary that skirts across the Wyoming border on Saturday evening. A few isolated showers are indicated by the GFS, whereas the ECMWF portrays a mainly dry forecast for Saturday night. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Monday evening) Issued at 453 PM MDT Sun Sep 2 2018 A weak trough over the Four Corners will lift slowly northeast through the Monday. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue through the early-evening hours, with the best focus across the south, before diminishing later this evening. Activity will re-develop by 18z on Monday with increased activity and intensity expected with the focus extending farther north, with KASE, KGUC, and KTEX the most susceptible to temporary lower ceilings and vsby. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && SHORT TERM...MAC LONG TERM...MAC AVIATION...MPM
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 358 AM MDT Sun Sep 2 2018 COZ001>014-017>023-UTZ022>025-027>029-031000- Lower Yampa River Basin-Central Yampa River Basin- Roan and Tavaputs Plateaus-Elkhead and Park Mountains- Upper Yampa River Basin-Grand Valley-Debeque to Silt Corridor- Central Colorado River Basin-Grand and Battlement Mesas- Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys- Central Gunnison and Uncompahgre River Basin- West Elk and Sawatch Mountains-Flat Tops- Upper Gunnison River Valley-Uncompahgre Plateau and Dallas Divide- Northwest San Juan Mountains-Southwest San Juan Mountains- Paradox Valley/Lower Dolores River- Four Corners/Upper Dolores River-Animas River Basin- San Juan River Basin-Southeast Utah-Eastern Uinta Mountains- Eastern Uinta Basin-Tavaputs Plateau-Arches/Grand Flat- La Sal and Abajo Mountains-Canyonlands/Natural Bridges- 358 AM MDT Sun Sep 2 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for eastern Utah and western Colorado. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Another round of isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop this afternoon, favoring the higher terrain of west- central and southwest Colorado. Storms will dissipate by midnight resulting in a quiet night. Frequent lightning and occasional gusty outflow winds will be the primary threats with storms, as well as brief heavy rain. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday There is a chance for afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms through at least mid week, mainly over the mountains. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected today or tonight, however spotters are encouraged to relay rainfall amounts to the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Bender Mountain Fire that was likely ignited by humans, burned in the extreme northeast corner of Utah. The fire grew to 4,116 acres before it was contained.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, September 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: 778607.