Hawaii, 2003

Wildfire in Hawaii, June 7, 2003

June 7, 2003 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A fire burned about 50 acres near Dole Plantation, along a mile stretch of Kamehameha Highway. The roadway was closed for a time because of the blaze.

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 fire burned about 50 acres near Dole Plantation, along a mile stretch of Kamehameha Highway. The roadway was closed for a time because of the blaze. Forty firefighters from ten units fought the brush fire. There were no serious injuries or property damage, and the cause of the blaze was 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 Jun 7, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 7, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST SAT JUN 7 2003

SUMMARY...A TROUGH PASSING THROUGH THE STATE FROM THE NORTHWEST WILL
SET OFF SOME CONVECTIVE SHOWERS MAINLY ON KAUAI...MAUI AND THE BIG
ISLAND TODAY. SOME LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE ON THE
OTHER ISLANDS. A RETURN OF TRADE WINDS IS EXPECTED BY MONDAY...WITH
MOST SHOWERS THEN CONFINED TO WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS. HIGH
PRESSURE BUILDING NORTH OF THE ISLANDS SHOULD STRENGTHEN THOSE TRADE
WINDS THROUGH THE COMING WEEK.

SATELLITE...AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WAS EVIDENT IN WATER VAPOR IMAGERY
NORTH AND NORTHWST OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THIS MORNING. AN
ASSOCIATED LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE BAND CONTAINED TOWERING CUMULUS
WITH TOPS TO 19 THOUSAND FEET...WITH A 200 MILE WIDE BAND OF BROKEN
TO OVERCAST MULTI-LAYERED CLOUDS CONTAINING EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS
IN THIS BAND FARTHER NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. THIS BAND OF CLOUDS
INCREASED IN COVERAGE AND PROPAGATED SOUTHEASTWARD AT ALMOST 25 MPH
DURING THE PAST 6 HOURS. THE TOPS OF THE EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS...
WHICH WERE MORE THAN 170 MILES NORTHEAST OF LIHUE...WERE UP TO NEAR
39 THOUSAND FEET.

DISCUSSION...HIGH PRESSURE OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA WILL
GRADUALLY BUILD BACK SOUTHWESTWARD TO BRING A RETURN OF THE TRADES
THIS WEEK. RESIDUAL INSTABILITY MAY STILL SPAWN A FEW HEAVY
SHOWERS...EVEN A THUNDERSTORM OVER KAUAI...MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND
TODAY...WITH A CHANCE FOR LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS ON THE OTHER
ISLANDS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE DECREASING ON SUNDAY HOWEVER.
MODELS FORECAST THE BUILDING OF A 1030 MB HIGH NORTH OF THE STATE BY
WEDNESDAY...SO EXPECT TRADES TO REACH MODERATE TO OCCASIONALLY FRESH
SPEEDS BY MIDWEEK...AND REMAIN MODERATE THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. OTHER
THAN THE LOCALLY HEAVY CONVECTIVE SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON...THE STATE
WILL SEE A RETURN OF TRADE SHOWERS...MAINLY WINDWARD AND MAUKA...
BEGINNING MONDAY...BUT LIKELY BECOMING MORE PREDOMINANT MIDWEEK.

SOUTH SWELL EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THE HIGH SURF ALONG SOUTH SHORES
STATEWIDE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SURF WILL DECREASE THROUGH THE COMING
WEEK.

FARRELL

.HFO...HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR SOUTH SHORES.

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
June 7, 12:00 PM HST to 4:15 PM HST
Where
Honolulu County, 2 mi NW of Whitmore Village
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, June 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: 5327603.