Wildfire, Hawaii
- When
- January 31, 12:00 PM HST to 11:59 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, 3 mi NW of Laupahoehoe
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, January 31, 2001
A brush fire, fanned by strong trade winds, burned about 50 acres between Ookala and Laupahoehoe on the Waimea side of Kaawalii Gulch on the Big Island. Many firefighters from different locales took part in battling the blaze.
Where it happened
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.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
A brush fire, fanned by strong trade winds, burned about 50 acres between Ookala and Laupahoehoe on the Waimea side of Kaawalii Gulch on the Big Island. The blaze disrupted traffic between the two towns for a time, though no homes or other structures were ever threatened by the fire.Many firefighters from different locales took part in battling the blaze. One water-bucket carrying helicopter was used to assist the men on the ground. No injuries or serious property damage were reported. The cause of the fire remained unknown.
What forecasters said that day
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 Honolulu, HI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 10 AM HST WED JAN 31 2001 SUMMARY...THE TRADE WINDS WILL REMAIN IN THE LIGHT TO MODERATE RANGE THROUGH THURSDAY. THEY WILL WEAKEN SLIGHTLY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY THEN RESTRENGTHEN ON SUNDAY. ONLY A FEW NIGHT AND MORNING SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED. DISCUSSION...THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE WILL REMAIN NORTH OF THE STATE AND TRADES OF VARYING VELOCITIES ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SOME MODELS SAID THAT THE RIDGE AND TRADES WOULD TEMPORARILY BREAK DOWN AS A KONA TYPE LOW DEVELOPED WEST OF HAWAII. THEY NOW SAY THAT THE LOW WILL DEEPEN NORTH OF THE RIDGE AND MOVE OFF TOWARDS CANADA. A TRAILING SHEARLINE SOUTH OF THE RIDGE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA SUNDAY. A DROP IN WINDS WILL OCCUR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WHEN THE COLD FRONT/SHEARLINE IS NORTH AND WEST OF HERE. THE INCREASE IN TRADES SUNDAY IS WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE SHEARLINE. A SURFACE HIGH TRAILING THE SHEARLINE WILL PASS BY TO THE NORTH KEEPING THE TRADES BRISK INTO NEXT WEEK. THERE WILL PROBABLY BE SOME SHOWERS WITH THE SHEARLINE BUT THIS WILL BE A WIND RATHER THAN A RAIN EVENT. SURF WILL BE 10 TO 15 FEET WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER SETS ALONG NORTHWEST FACING SHORES THROUGH THURSDAY. CRAIG. .PHFO.....WARNINGS.....NONE . WATCHES......NONE . ADVISORIES...HIGH SURF NORTH AND WEST SHORES
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, January 31, 2001
- Flash Flood in New York, January 31, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Maine, January 31, 2001
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, January 31, 2001
- Winter Weather in Vermont, January 31, 2001
- Winter Weather in New York, January 31, 2001
- High Surf in Hawaii, January 31, 2001
- Dense Fog in California, January 31, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Ohio, January 31, 2001
- High Wind in Alaska, January 31, 2001
- Flood in Indiana, January 31, 2001
- Flood in Oklahoma, January 31, 2001
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 2001
Sources
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: 5227612.