Lightning started the wildfire on July 24.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 OTX wrote it up.
Lightning started the wildfire on July 24.
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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 24, 8:35 PM PST, 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
935 PM PDT Mon Jul 24 2023
.SYNOPSIS...
Critical fire weather conditions continue through the afternoon
with increasing gusty winds and a drying out of the area ahead of
a passing cold front. Light showers will be possible in the early
evening with the front as well. The rest of the week will remain
seasonal and calm, before a warming trend begins on Friday.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Evening update: Forcing with a cold front combined with elevated
instability has been sufficient to generate shower and
thunderstorm activity this evening mainly along and east of a
line from Pomeroy to Coeur d'Alene. POP's and weather forecast has
been adjusted to reflect radar trends this evening. Most of these
storms have been fast moving raising concerns for dry lightning,
although we also received a spotter report of a 5-6 minute
downpour from storms in Pullman. Yet for most areas storms will
also be putting down light amounts so new fire starts are a
definite concern.
Will let current Red Flag Warnings run their course from North
Idaho down to the Pomeroy area where lightning could result in new
fire starts. For the remainder of Eastern WA will be cancelling
the Red Flag Warning by 10 PM where relative humidity has risen
above critical thresholds. JW
&&
.AVIATION...
00Z TAFs: Gusts will increase through the afternoon with most
sites seeing gusts of 30 to 40 mph. VFR conditions will prevail
through the TAF period. Winds could create blowing dust in the
Columbia Basin and Moses Lake areas, and near surface smoke will
be possible with any new fire starts. /Sinowitz
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Spokane 57 80 51 82 53 85 / 10 0 0 0 0 0
Coeur d'Alene 58 79 52 81 52 84 / 20 0 0 0 0 0
Pullman 52 78 48 79 49 81 / 30 0 0 0 0 0
Lewiston 65 90 60 89 61 91 / 30 0 0 0 0 0
Colville 48 79 43 81 43 84 / 10 0 0 0 0 0
Sandpoint 55 77 48 79 48 81 / 10 10 0 0 0 0
Kellogg 59 76 56 78 56 81 / 20 10 0 0 0 0
Moses Lake 56 83 52 85 53 87 / 10 0 0 0 0 0
Wenatchee 59 80 56 84 58 86 / 10 0 0 0 0 0
Omak 56 84 53 85 56 89 / 10 0 0 0 0 0
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Red Flag Warning until 11 PM PDT this evening for Northern and
Central Idaho Panhandle (Zone 101).
WA...Red Flag Warning until 11 PM PDT this evening for Lower
Palouse-Snake River (Zone 709).
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning started the wildfire on July 24. It was contained on July 28. It burned 526 acres of grassland and brush. No structures lost.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, July 2023
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: 1127088.