Wildfire, South Big Island
- When
- December 5, 8:00 PM HST to December 9, 6:00 PM HST
- Where
- South Big Island forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
Wildfire in Hawaii, December 5 to 9, 2004
A fire of unknown origin scorched 660 acres of mainly brush land near Pahala in the Kau District on the Big Island of Hawaii. Around 40 firefighters battled the blaze over four days, and they received help from several private firms' helicopters that doused the flames with water.
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 of unknown origin scorched 660 acres of mainly brush land near Pahala in the Kau District on the Big Island of Hawaii. Around 40 firefighters battled the blaze over four days, and they received help from several private firms' helicopters that doused the flames with water. There were no reports of serious injuries or property damage.
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 Dec 5, 4:00 PM HST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 5, 4:00 PM HST, 4 hours before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 4 PM HST SUN DEC 5 2004 .SYNOPSIS...GUSTY TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO STEADILY WEAKEN... THEIR SHOWERS DIMINISHING AS WELL. A CONVECTIVE PATTERN ALONG WITH A WEAK FRONT MAY AGAIN ADD A FEW SHOWERS DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE COMING WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...THE HIGH WHICH GENERATED THE STRONG TRADE WIND FLOW IS CONTINUING TO WEAKEN. WIND SPEEDS HAVE LOWERED BELOW THEIR WARNING AND ADVISORY THRESHOLDS AND WILL CONTINUE ON A GRADUAL DOWNTREND BECOMING LIGHT BY WEDNESDAY...LIGHT ENOUGH TO PRODUCE A WEAK CONVECTIVE PATTERN WITH SPOTTY AFTERNOON SHOWERS. THE ONCE STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL HAVE BEEN WEAKENED INTO A WEAK RIDGE PUSHED NEAR THE ISLANDS BY AN APPROACHING FRONT. THE FRONTS TENTATIVE ARRIVAL WILL LIKELY BE A WEAK ONE BUT CAPABLE OF A FEW SHOWERS. THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SUPPORTING BOTH THE PREFRONTAL CONVECTION AND THE FRONT ITSELF IS NOT PARTICULARLY STRONG... ITS RAINFALL ENHANCING CAPABILITY IS CURRENTLY JUDGED TO BE SLIGHT. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING...BIG ISLAND CANCELLED AT 4 PM GALE WARNING........CANCELLED AT 4 PM WIND ADVISORY.......CANCELLED AT 4 PM HI SURF ADVISORY....EAST SHORES MOST ISLANDS SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS MATSUDA
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
- Blizzard in Alaska, December 5 to 8, 2004
- High Wind in Oregon, December 5 to 6, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Arizona, December 5 to 6, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Arizona, December 5 to 6, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Arizona, December 5 to 6, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 5, 2004
- Strong Wind in California, December 5, 2004
- Heavy Rain in Arizona, December 5 to 6, 2004
- Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 5 to 6, 2004
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, December 2004
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: 5431568.