Wildfire — Trinity, California

1999-10-01 to 1999-10-28 · near Denny, Trinity, California

Wider weather episode

Megram Fire started by lightning in August, fanned by high winds in September was knocked down by rain in October so that firefighters could bring it under control. Dense smoke forced the evacuation of thousands of residents of the Hoopa and Willow Creek areas. Visibility was often less than 150 feet. Smoke and ashes spread over much of Northwest California. $75 million was spent on firefighting, $1.3 million in damage to commercial timber, $16 million potential damage to fisheries and $6.2 million needed for rehabilitation for a total cost of $98.5 million. This was the fifth largest fire (acreage) in California history with 141,200 acres burned. No fatalities or injuries was directly caused by weather.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5723201. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.