Wildfire, Hawaii
- When
- June 1, 12:00 AM HST to June 21, 5:00 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, 9 mi SSE of Volcano
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, June 1 to 21, 2002
The Kupukupu fire, named for the exotic fern that helped fuel the blaze, blackened about 3660 acres in the Holei Pali area of the Big Island of Hawaii. However, there were no serious injuries or property damage.
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.
The Kupukupu fire, named for the exotic fern that helped fuel the blaze, blackened about 3660 acres in the Holei Pali area of the Big Island of Hawaii. However, there were no serious injuries or property damage. The fire burned from May 17th through June 21st in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was difficult to extinguish because of its remote location and because molten lava from Kilauea Volcano was acting as a continuous ignition source.More than 140 federal firefighters battled the wildfire, with 80 of those from Arizona and California. Five charter and two Army helicopters assisted in battling the blaze with water drops. The national park's fire management officer estimated that firefighting costs would top $1.5 million
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 May 31, 4:42 PM HST, 7 hours 18 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 31, 4:42 PM HST, 7 hours 18 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR AMERICAN SAMOA AND THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA...CORRECTED CORRECTION TO WORDING IN TUVALU SECTION TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... OUR SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW ONLY SCATTERED LOW CLOUDS OVER AND UPSTREAM OF THE SAMOA ISLANDS. THE LOW CLOUDS UPSTREAM OF THE ISLANDS ARE MOVING FROM THE EAST AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS. THE 31/18Z AVN MODEL SHOWS LITTLE CHANGE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. A SURFACE RIDGE NORTH OF NEW ZEALAND WILL BUILD EASTWARD SATURDAY. AS THE RIDGE BUILDS EASTWARD...WINDS NEAR THE SAMOA ISLANDS WILL SHIFT TO EAST SOUTHEAST AND INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 KNOTS. AN AREA OF CONVERGENCE WILL DEVELOP WHERE THE EAST SOUTHEAST WINDS MEET EASTERLY WINDS. THE CONVERGENCE WILL BE CENTERED NORTH OF THE SAMOA ISLANDS BUT IT WILL BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO SAMOA TO ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE CLOUDS AND SHOWERS SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. WITH EAST SOUTHEAST TRADE WINDS BLOWING ACROSS THE ISLANDS...SHOWERS WILL BE MOST FREQUENT OVER THE WINDWARD...EAST SOUTHEAST SECTIONS OF THE LARGER ISLANDS WITH SHOWERS SPREADING LEEWARD OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS. SOUTH SOUTHWEST SWELL WILL PEAK NEAR 8 FEET THIS MORNING THEN DROP SLOWLY. THE SWELL WILL DROP BELOW 6 FEET SATURDAY AND BELOW 5 FEET SUNDAY. OUTLOOK FOR MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... THE MRF MODEL SHOWS 15 TO 20 KNOT EAST SOUTHEAST WINDS CONTINUING ACROSS THE SAMOA ISLANDS MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WITH A BAND OF CONVERGENCE CENTERED NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. WEATHER WILL BE MOSTLY FAIR WITH ISOLATED WINDWARD SHOWERS. NARRATIVE DISCUSSION FOR TUVALU TODAY THROUGH MONDAY...TUVALU TIME... OUR SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW FAIR SKIES ACROSS TUVALU BUT THERE IS A 120 MILE WIDE BAND OF BROKEN CLOUDS WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS TO THE EAST. THIS BAND IS CENTERED FROM 140 NAUTICAL MILES EAST OF NIULAKITA TO 07S170W TO 10S154W. THE BAND WILL SPREAD WESTWARD ACROSS TUVALU TONIGHT AND WILL REMAIN OVER THE ISLANDS THROUGH MONDAY...TUVALU TIME. SKIES WILL BE PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH WIDELY ISOLATED SHOWERS. LIGHT EAST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 10 TO 15 KNOTS TONIGHT AND TO 15 TO 20 KNOTS MONDAY...TUVALU TIME. DONALDSON
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
- Heat in Illinois, June 1, 2002
- Heat in Missouri, June 1 to 4, 2002
- Wildfire in California, June 1 to 6, 2002
- Tornado in Idaho, June 1, 2002
- Hail in Iowa, June 1, 2002
- Wildfire in Arizona, June 1 to 10, 2002
- Wildfire in California, June 1, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Utah, June 1, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, June 1, 2002
- Drought in South Dakota, June 1 to 30, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, June 1, 2002
- Drought in Colorado, June 1 to 30, 2002
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, June 2002
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: 5305362.