Wildfire in Hawaii, September 12 to 15, 2004

Name: Wildfire in Hawaii, September 12 to 15, 2004
Start: 2004-09-12T11:05
End: 2004-09-15T09:00
Location: Hawaii

September 12 to 15, 2004 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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.

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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 consumed nearly 2000 acres of brush in the South Kohala District on the Big Island of Hawaii, 8 miles west of Kamuela. A total of 70 families had to be evacuated from the Mauna Kea Uplands subdivisions near Mauna Kea Beach Resort and from the Waiula Ole Self-Help Housing Community on Sunday afternoon, the 12th. All the families, however, were allowed to return to their homes by Sunday evening or Monday morning. The blaze was in an area of unexploded ordnance left over from World War II-era training exercises. Some of the munitions did explode during the time of the fire, but no one was seriously hurt.The fire forced the closure of Kawaihae Road and Queen Kaahumanu Highway for a time near the blaze on the 12th.Hawaii County used many firefighters and a lot of equipment, including bulldozers and helicopters, to battle the fire. This put a severe financial burden on the county, though even unofficial cost estimates were not readily available. The fire fighting was successful, on the other hand, in that there were no serious injuries or property damage. The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

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 12, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 12, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 5 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST SUN SEP 12 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY NORTH OF THE ISLANDS
FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THE HIGH WILL KEEP MODERATE TRADES
BLOWING ACROSS THE STATE. SHOWERS WILL RIDE IN ON THE TRADES FROM
TIME TO TIME...ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT AND IN THE MORNING. ALTHOUGH THE
SHOWERS WILL BE MOST FREQUENT OVER WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS...THE
TRADES WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PUSH SOME RAINFALL TO LEEWARD AREAS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
TRADE WINDS IN THE 10 TO 20 MPH RANGE WILL REMAIN WITH US THROUGH
NEXT WEEKEND. A 1026 MB HIGH PRESSURE CELL CENTERED FAR NORTH OF
THE ISLANDS NEAR 35N 161W IS PRODUCING THE MODERATE TRADE WIND
FLOW. THE HIGH WILL MEANDER NEAR THE SAME LATITUDE BETWEEN 165W AND
145W DURING THE WEEK...RESULTING IN LITTLE CHANGE TO THE PRESSURE
GRADIENT OVER THE ISLANDS.

THE 12Z SOUNDINGS REVEALED A RATHER DEEP MOIST LAYER...WITH
INVERSION BASES UP NEAR 9000 FEET. AN UPPER LOW ABOUT 500 MILES TO
THE NORTHEAST OF HONOLULU IS RESPONSIBLE FOR LIFTING THE INVERSION
HEIGHTS UP A FEW THOUSAND FEET FROM NORMAL. THE INVERSION HEIGHT AND
MOIST LAYER ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN ELEVATED THROUGH TUESDAY...THEN
DROP BACK DOWN TO MORE TYPICAL LEVELS AS THE UPPER LOW MOVES AWAY
FROM THE REGION TO THE NORTH ON WEDNESDAY.

AS A RESULT OF THE ELEVATED MOIST LAYER AND MODERATE TRADE WINDS...
CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD TO LEEWARD AREAS OF THE
SMALLER ISLANDS. RAINFALL TOTALS HAVE BEEN MODEST. MOST WINDWARD
GAGES HAVE REPORTED A HALF OF AN INCH OR LESS DURING THE PAST 24
HOURS WITH A FEW STAND-OUTS MEASURING THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH...
AND MOST LEEWARD SITES ON THE SMALLER ISLANDS HAVE RECEIVED LESS
THAN TWO TENTHS OF AN INCH.

THE CURRENT FORECAST PACKAGE MAINTAINS THE GENERAL TREND OF ENHANCED
TRADE WIND SHOWER ACTIVITY FOR MOST ISLANDS THROUGH TUESDAY.
HOWEVER...THE FORECAST WILL BE UPDATED TO INCREASE SHOWERS OVER
WINDWARD KAUAI THIS AFTERNOON. IN ADDITION...A PATCH OF DRIER AIR
WILL BRUSH THE BIG ISLAND TONIGHT...LEADING TO A DECREASE IN SHOWERS
OVER ITS WINDWARD EXPOSURES. LEEWARD BIG ISLAND WILL CONTINUE TO
EXPERIENCE SCATTERED SHOWERS DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS.

FORERUNNERS OF THE UPCOMING SOUTH SWELL HAVE JUST STARTED TO REACH
BUOY 51003...ABOUT 235 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HONOLULU. THE SWELL WILL
BEGIN TO SLOWLY BUILD ON THE BIG ISLAND TODAY AND ON THE OTHER
ISLANDS THIS EVENING. SURF IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN JUST BELOW THE
SOUTH SHORE HIGH SURF ADVISORY LEVEL OF 8 FEET ON MONDAY AND PEAK
NEAR 8 FEET MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY.

&&

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

&&

WROE

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, Kohala

When: September 12, 11:05 AM HST to September 15, 9:00 AM HST
Where: Kohala forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (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

Every storm in Hawaii in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, September 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: 5431609.