Wildfire in Hawaii, July 12, 2005

Name: Wildfire in Hawaii, July 12, 2005
Start: 2005-07-12T05:45
End: 2005-07-12T16:00
Location: Hawaii

July 12, 2005 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

5 miles southwest of Hawi in leeward South Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii. The blaze forced an almost nine hour closure of an eight-mile stretch of the Akoni Pule Highway, from 0600 to 1445.

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 of unknown origin burned 150 acres of mainly brush 5.5 miles southwest of Hawi in leeward South Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii. The blaze forced an almost nine hour closure of an eight-mile stretch of the Akoni Pule Highway, from 0600 to 1445. The fire threatened the historically significant Lapakahi State Park. Some areas of the park were affected by the fire, but damage estimates were not available. No serious injuries 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 Jul 12, 4:00 AM HST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 12, 4:00 AM HST, 1 hour 45 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
400 AM HST TUE JUL 12 2005

.SYNOPSIS...
SHOWER CLOUDS LINED UP ALONG WINDWARD COASTS OF ALL ISLANDS WILL
MAKE FOR A RATHER DAMP MORNING ALONG THESE COASTS. ISOLATED SHOWERS
MAY MAKE IT TO LEEWARD SECTIONS BRIEFLY. HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE
ISLANDS WILL KEEP TRADE WINDS BLOWING FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
DISTURBANCES IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE MAY ENHANCE INCOMING MOISTURE
ON THIS TRADE WIND FLOW AT TIMES FOR SOME MODERATELY HEAVY TRADE
SHOWERS. OCCASIONAL HEAVIER AFTERNOON SHOWERS MAY OCCUR IN KONA.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
PLENTY OF SHOWER CLOUDS SEEN UPWIND OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS MY
BE PRODDED ON BY AN UPPER AIR DISTURBANCE NORTHWEST OF KAUAI OVER
THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS TO PRODUCE SOME HEAVIER THAN USUAL TRADE
SHOWERS OVER WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS. A FEW OF THESE MAY ALSO
BLOW OVER TO SECTIONS LEEWARD OF THE MOUNTAINS ON THE SMALLER
ISLANDS. KONA DISTRICTS ON THE BIG ISLAND MAY ALSO SEE SOME RATHER
HEAVY AFTERNOON CONVECTIVE SHOWERS DUE TO THE UPPER AIR DISTURBANCE.

CONTINUED RIDGING ACROSS THE CENTRAL PACIFIC NORTH OF THE ISLANDS
WILL KEEP OUR TRADE WINDS IN THE FORECAST THROUGH THE PERIOD IN THE
MODERATE TO OCCASIONALLY FRESH RANGE...WITH LIGHTER WINDS OVER THE
ISLANDS AT NIGHT. WITH PLENTY OF SHOWER-BEARING CLOUDS OVER THE
WATERS FAR UPWIND OF THE ISLANDS AND THE CONTINUING RATHER
UNCERTAIN STABILITY CREATED BY A MID-LEVEL LOW ALOFT JUST NORTHWEST
OF KAUAI...EXPECT TRADE WIND SHOWERS TO PREDOMINATE AT TIMES OVER
WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS THROUGH THE WEEK...WITH SOME HEAVIER
AFTERNOON CONVECTION POSSIBLE ON THE LEEWARD SLOPES OF THE BIG
ISLAND OF HAWAII AS WELL. THE WEATHER MAY DRY OUT JUST A BIT BY
SUNDAY AS SOME RIDGING IS FORECAST ALOFT BY THE GFS FOR EARLY NEXT
WEEK.

&&

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

&&

FARRELL

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: July 12, 5:45 AM HST to 4:00 PM 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 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, July 2005

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: 5465193.