Hawaii, 2003

Wildfire in Hawaii, August 27, 2003

August 27, 2003 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A brush fire burned around 70 acres near Bellows Air Force Station in windward Oahu. The fire threatened several homes in the Keolu Hills subdivision for a time, and fire officials evacuated those residents nearest the fire because of heavy smoke.

Where it happened

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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 brush fire burned around 70 acres near Bellows Air Force Station in windward Oahu. The fire threatened several homes in the Keolu Hills subdivision for a time, and fire officials evacuated those residents nearest the fire because of heavy smoke. The firefighters used Honolulu Fire Department's Air One helicopter and two Marine helicopters from nearby Marine Corps Base Hawaii in helping to battle the blaze. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries. The cause of the fire was not determined.

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 27, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 27, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST WED AUG 27 2003

SUMMARY...LIGHT TO MODERATE TRADE WINDS WILL PERSIST THRU THE WEEK
END.

DISCUSSION...SURFACE RIDGING TO THE NORTH WILL MAINTAIN THE CURRENT
TRADE WIND REGIME. THE POSSIBILITY OF LIMITED AFTERNOON CONVECTION
TOMORROW IS DEPENDENT ON HOW MUCH TRADE WINDS SLACKEN. STATEWIDE
PRESSURES ARE NOW WEAKENING SLIGHTLY..HALF A MILLIBAR..AND MAY
SIGNAL THE SHIFTING OF THE RAINFALL FROM THE MORNING INTO THE
AFTERNOON. AT ANY RATE BELIEVE SHOWERS WILL REMAIN LARGELY ISOLATED.
WE CONTINUE TO ADHERE TO MODEL EXPECTATIONS OF A TROPICAL LOW
PASSING SOUTH OF THE ISLANDS THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK AND
INCREASING TRADE WIND SPEEDS...THERE IS SOME INITIAL SATTELITE
INDICATIONS THAT A MODEST TROPICAL FORMATION IS OCCURRING IN THE
FAR EASTSOUTHEAST SOME 1900 MILES AWAY.  MATSUDA

.HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE
.      WATCHES......NONE
.      ADVISORIES...NONE

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 27, 11:45 AM HST to 3:00 PM HST
Where
Honolulu County, 4 mi N of Waimanalo
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: 5327716.