Wildfire in Hawaii, July 22 to 24, 2005

Name: Wildfire in Hawaii, July 22 to 24, 2005
Start: 2005-07-22T12:45
End: 2005-07-24T02:00
Location: Hawaii

July 22 to 24, 2005 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A fire that started in pasture land 7 miles south of Kamuela in leeward Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii burned 2000 acres. The origin of the fire was unknown.

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 that started in pasture land 7 miles south of Kamuela in leeward Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii burned 2000 acres. The origin of the fire was unknown. For Friday afternoon and evening, and much of Saturday, 22 and 23 July, the fire disrupted traffic along Mamalahoa Highway, between Waikoloa Road and the Waimea airport junction. However, there were no reports of serious property damage or 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 Jul 22, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 22, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours 45 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST FRI JUL 22 2005

.SYNOPSIS...
A HIGH FAR TO OUR NORTH WILL KEEP TRADE WINDS BLOWING THROUGH THE
REST OF THE MONTH. THE HIGH WILL BUILD OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS...SO
THE TRADES WILL BE LOCALLY BREEZY STARTING TOMORROW NIGHT. CLOUDS
RIDING IN ON THE TRADES WILL BRING SHOWERY CONDITIONS TO WINDWARD
AREAS. SOME SHOWERS WILL SPREAD OVER LEEWARD AREAS OF THE SMALLER
ISLANDS...ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT. CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL FORM OVER
KONA DAILY IN THE AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A CLOUD BAND SHAPED LIKE A SHALLOW UPSIDE-DOWN V IS MOVING ACROSS
THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. AT 930 AM HST...THE BAND WAS CENTERED
FROM OAHU TO 230 MILES NORTHEAST OF MAUI TO 300 MILES EAST OF HILO
TO 17N 146W. THE WEST LEG OF THE V WILL DRAG ACROSS OAHU AND KAUAI
TODAY. THE BAND WILL INCREASE CLOUDS AND SHOWERS A BIT OVER THOSE
ISLANDS BUT DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY THE IMPACT WILL BE LIMITED.
THE TRAILING LEG OF THE V WILL REACH THE ISLANDS LATE TONIGHT AND
THE INCREASE OF CLOUDS AND SHOWERS MAY BE MORE NOTICEABLE.

A 1027 MB HIGH ABOUT 1600 MILES NORTH OF THE ISLANDS IS PRODUCING
EAST NORTHEAST TRADE-WIND FLOW OVER THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. SINCE
THE HIGH IS QUITE DISTANT...AND THERE IS A SURFACE LOW ABOUT 1100
MILES NORTH OF THE ISLANDS NEAR 36N 151W...THE TRADE WINDS OVER THE
ISLANDS ARE NOW RELATIVELY WEAK. ACCORDING TO THE GFS MODEL...OVER
THE NEXT 36 HOURS THE LOW WILL FILL AND THE HIGH WILL BUILD TO 1031
MB. AS THAT HAPPENS...WINDS OVER THE ISLANDS WILL STRENGTHEN...
BECOMING LOCALLY BREEZY BY TOMORROW NIGHT AND REMAINING SO THROUGH
NEXT WEEK.

&&

.MARINE...
NO SIGNIFICANT SWELLS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT WEEK. AS TRADE
WINDS STRENGTHEN...A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WILL PROBABLY BE NEEDED BY
TOMORROW NIGHT FOR MAALAEA BAY AND THE WATERS SOUTH OF THE BIG
ISLAND. THE ADVISORY MAY CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF NEXT WEEK.

&&

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

&&

DONALDSON

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 22, 12:45 PM HST to July 24, 2:00 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 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: 5465196.