Hawaii, 2003

Wildfire in Hawaii, August 19 to 21, 2003

August 19 to 21, 2003 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A fire blackened 155 acres of brush on the Mokuleia side of Kaena Point on Oahu, and endangered five types of native Hawaiian plants. Survey teams had not been able to canvas the area to see if any of the prized vegetation was actually harmed, but irrigation pipes used by state officials to water the plants were destroyed by the fire.

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.

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  • Floods
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  • Hail
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  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
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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 fire blackened 155 acres of brush on the Mokuleia side of Kaena Point on Oahu, and endangered five types of native Hawaiian plants. Survey teams had not been able to canvas the area to see if any of the prized vegetation was actually harmed, but irrigation pipes used by state officials to water the plants were destroyed by the fire. No dollar cost of damages was available, however. One third of the blaze also scorched sections of the Kuaokala game management area; where quail, doves and pheasants had migrated. Firefighters used the Air One helicopter from the Honolulu Fire Department to help douse the fire. There were no reports of injuries. The blaze was started by the wind carrying flames from a burning van to the dry brush near by.

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 Aug 19, 8:30 PM HST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 19, 8:30 PM HST, 2 hours before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST TUE AUG 19 2003

SUMMARY...HIGH PRESSURE TO OUR NORTH WILL MAINTAIN MODERATE LOCALLY
FRESH TRADE WINDS. ISOLATED SHOWERS WILL FAVOR WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN
SECTIONS...AND NIGHT AND MORNING HOURS.

DISCUSSION...HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN STRONG TO THE NORTH OF THE
STATE THROUGH FRIDAY...BUT THEN WILL WEAKEN AND DRIFT WESTWARD OVER
THE WEEKEND AS A MID-LATITUDE TROUGH DIGS SOUTHWARD. THUS TRADE
WINDS WILL BE MAINTAINED IN THEIR CURRENT MODERATE TO FRESH SPEEDS
THROUGH THE WEEK...THEN DROP OFF A BIT OVER THE WEEKEND AS THE
TROUGH PUSHES THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE SOUTH TO NEAR 30N AND WEAKENS
THE PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER THE ISLANDS. AT THIS TIME...FORECAST
CHARTS KEEP A SLIGHTLY WEAKER RIDGE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS THROUGH
NEXT WEEK...WHICH SHOULD AT LEAST MAINTAIN MODERATE TRADE WINDS
THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST PERIOD. NO SIGNIFICANT RAINMAKERS ARE
FORECAST FOR THE ISLANDS...THUS OUR WEATHER WILL REMAIN ON THE DRY
SIDE...WITH ONLY ISOLATED WINDWARD AND MAUKA SHOWERS FOR THE MOST
PART DURING THE NIGHT AND MORNING HOURS. FARRELL

.HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE
.      WATCHES......NONE
.      ADVISORIES...SMALL CRAFT ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL AND SOUTH OF
.                   BIG ISLAND

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Honolulu

When
August 19, 10:30 PM HST to August 21, 5:00 PM HST
Where
Honolulu County, 6 mi W of Waialua
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, August 2003

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: 5327717.