Wildfire, Maui
- When
- September 16, 4:45 AM HST to September 19, 6:00 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 3 mi SSW of Kahului
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, September 16 to 19, 2003
A controlled burn by the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company got out of hand near Waikapu on Maui when the wind carried some of the flames into nearby mountainous terrain. The fire ended up blackening about 1000 acres of parched grassland, to as high as 2000 feet in elevation in the West Maui Mountains.
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 controlled burn by the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company got out of hand near Waikapu on Maui when the wind carried some of the flames into nearby mountainous terrain. The fire ended up blackening about 1000 acres of parched grassland, to as high as 2000 feet in elevation in the West Maui Mountains. The blaze forced the evacuation of the Sandalwood and Grand Waikapu golf courses for a few hours during the afternoon of the 16th and all day on the 17th. State and federal firefighters, with the help of four water-carrying helicopters (including a large Chinook from the Hawaii Army National Guard on Oahu), battled the fire over several days. However, no serious injuries or property damage were reported.
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 Sep 16, 4:30 AM HST, 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 16, 4:30 AM HST, 15 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR AMERICAN SAMOA AND THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... A CONVERGENCE BAND HAS BEEN APPROACHING SAMOA FROM THE NORTHEAST. THE BAND CONSISTS OF A ROUGHLY 300 MILE WIDE AREA OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. THE LONG TERM MOTION OF THE BAND HAS BEEN TOWARD THE SOUTHWEST AT 8 KT...BUT OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS THE BAND HAS SLOWED. INDIVIDUAL AREAS OF DEEP CONVECTION WITHIN THE BAND ARE NOW MOVING MORE TOWARD THE WEST. THE 12Z SOUNDING SHOWED THAT DEEPER MOISTURE HAD YET TO OVERSPREAD NSTU. THE GLOBAL MODELS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT THIS MORNING...TAKING THE CONVERGENCE BAND ONLY A LITTLE FARTHER SOUTH. ANY DEEP CONVECTION THAT REACHES SAMOA WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO COME FROM AREAS THAT FORM TO THE EAST. THE TREND OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS HAS BEEN FOR UPSTREAM DEEP CONVECTION TO WEAKEN AS IT PASSES WEST OF 160W. EXPECT ISOLATED SHOWERS TODAY. THIE DEEPER MOISTURE NOW ALONG AND EAST OF 160W IS FORECAST TO PROGRESS WEST TODAY AND SHOULD REACH SAMOA TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. THUS EXPECT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS. A QUICK DOWNPOUR IS POSSIBLE. HOWEVER...WITH STRONG 500 MB RIDGING OVER SAMOA...THE LACK OF DEEP LAYER FORCING IMPLIES A NEGLIGIBLE RISK FOR PROLONGED HEAVY/EXCESSIVE RAINFALL. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN TRADES IN THE 10 TO 20 KNOT RANGE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. DECREASING LONG PERIOD SOUTH SWELL. OUTLOOK FOR THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... LITTLE CHANGE IN THE SYNOPTIC PATTERN IS INDICATED IN THE GLOBAL MODELS THROUGH SATURDAY. THEY ALL MAINTAIN A COUPLE HUNDRED-MILE WIDE CONVERGENCE BAND OF DEEP LAYER MOISTURE STRUNG OUT SOMEWHERE WITHIN A COUPLE DEGREES OF 10S. THE AVN IS FARTHEST SOUTH WITH NOGAPS FARTHER NORTH. ECMWF A GOOD COMPROMISE. THE TRADES SHOULD BRING AREAS OF SCATTERED SHOWERS THROUGH...BUT OVERALL THE WEATHER SHOULD BE NOT TOO BAD. A COLD FRONT WILL PASS FAR TO THE SOUTH ON THURSDAY AND IS NOT EXPECTED TO REACH SAMOA. TRADES 10 TO 20 KNOTS THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH SOME STRONGER GUSTS POSSIBLE ON FRIDAY AS A HIGH OF ABOUT 1025 MB PASSES TO THE SOUTH OF SAMOA ALONG 31S. NARRATIVE DISCUSSION FOR TUVALU TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY...TUVALU TIME... THE AFOREMENTIONED CONVERGENCE BAND WILL BRING TIMES OF SHOWERS AND RISK OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA THROUGH THE PERIOD. EAST WINDS AROUND 10 KT. R BALLARD
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
- Hail in Washington, September 16, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Wyoming, September 16 to 17, 2003
- Frost and Freeze in Oregon, September 16 to 17, 2003
- Frost and Freeze in California, September 16 to 17, 2003
- Frost and Freeze in Alaska, September 16, 2003
- Waterspout in Eastern Pacific Coastal Waters, September 16, 2003
- Hail in Kentucky, September 16, 2003
- High Wind in Idaho, September 16, 2003
- Hail in North Dakota, September 16, 2003
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, September 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: 5327731.