Wildfire, Hawaii
- When
- May 28, 8:00 AM HST to May 31, 9:00 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, 8 mi SSE of Volcano
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, May 28 to 31, 2003
A blaze started by a lava flow from Kilauea Volcano blackened approximately 5000 acres of prized rain forest vegetation east of Chain of Craters Road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The extremely dry vegetation was in flames in a 2-mile swath along Kilauea's east rift.
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 blaze started by a lava flow from Kilauea Volcano blackened approximately 5000 acres of prized rain forest vegetation east of Chain of Craters Road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The extremely dry vegetation was in flames in a 2-mile swath along Kilauea's east rift. Officials used 45 firefighters and four helicopters to battle the wildfire. There were no reports of injuries.
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 28, 5:00 AM HST, 3 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 28, 5:00 AM HST, 3 hours before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND CLEARING HAS BEEN A SLOW PROCESS OVER THE REGION BUT SHOULD QUICKEN AFTER SUNRISE TODAY. THE AIRMASS APPEARS TO BE REASONABLY STABLE SO SHOWERS ARE ISOLATED WITH NO HINT OF HEAVY CONVECTION. A RIDGE A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES TO THE NORTH WILL REMAIN STATIONARY... MAINTAINING EAST WINDS BETWEEN 10 AND 15 KNOTS THROUGH TONIGHT. A NORTH SWELL WILL BECOME THE PREDOMINANT SWELL TODAY WITH HEIGHTS OF 6 TO 8 FEET. THE SECONDARY TRADE WIND SWELL WILL BE A LITTLE SMALLER.
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
- Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, May 28, 2003
- Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, May 28, 2003
- Lightning Strike in Massachusetts, May 28, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 28, 2003
- Flash Flood and Hail in Connecticut, May 28, 2003
- Lightning Strike in New Jersey, May 28, 2003
- Strong Wind in New York, May 28, 2003
- Heat in California, May 28, 2003
- Dust Devil in Alaska, May 28, 2003
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 28, 2003
- Hail in Wisconsin, May 28, 2003
- Hail in New Jersey, May 28, 2003
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, May 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: 5327589.