Wildfire in Hawaii, May 13 to 14, 2005

Name: Wildfire in Hawaii, May 13 to 14, 2005
Start: 2005-05-13T14:00
End: 2005-05-14T17:00
Location: Hawaii

May 13 to 14, 2005 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A fast-moving fire blackened 900 acres of brush about 5 miles north-northeast of South Point on the Big Island of Hawaii. The blaze did not threaten any homes.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $50,000
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 fast-moving fire blackened 900 acres of brush about 5 miles north-northeast of South Point on the Big Island of Hawaii. The blaze did not threaten any homes. The newspaper article carrying the story of the fire mentioned that damage estimates were $50 thousand, though there were no specifics about exactly what was damaged. 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 May 13, 10:00 AM HST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 10:00 AM HST, 4 hours before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST FRI MAY 13 2005

.SYNOPSIS...
A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE NORTH OF HAWAII WILL STRENGTHEN...RESULTING
IN AN INCREASE IN THE TRADE WINDS. A WEAK TROUGH IN THE EASTERLIES
WILL BRING A FEW SHOWERS TO WINDWARD SECTIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING. OVERALL...RELATIVELY DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE
MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
ANIMATION OF SATELLITE IMAGERY AND SATELLITE DERIVED LOW CLOUD
FIELDS SHOW A SUBTLE LOW LEVEL TROUGH IN THE EASTERLIES APPROACHING
THE ISLANDS NEAR 153W. 24 HOUR PRESSURE CHANGES AROUND THE STATE ARE
DOWN ABOUT HALF A MILLIBAR. THIS TROUGH HAS LOCALLY ENHANCED THE
MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AND SO THERE IS A SCATTERING OF TRADE WIND
SHOWERS MAINLY EAST OF MAUI AND EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF THE BIG
ISLAND. ALTHOUGH THE SHOWER ELEMENTS ARE SMALL...SOME OF THESE ARE
FAIRLY RESPECTABLE WITH 50-55 DBZ SHOWING UP IN COMPOSITE
REFLECTIVITY. EXTRAPOLATION OF MOTION PUTS THE BACK EDGE OF THIS
AREA TO NEAR THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE BIG ISLAND BY ABOUT 07Z. THE
CHANCE POPS THERE CONTINUE TO LOOK GOOD FOR THE AFTERNOON. HOWEVER
WILL PROBABLY NEED TO BUMP UP THE POPS FOR WINDWARD SECTIONS OF MAUI
COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND FOR THE EVENING...AND POSSIBLY OTHER
WINDWARD AREAS AS WELL.

ALTHOUGH THE TRADES WERE LIGHT TO MODERATE AROUND KAUAI AND OAHU
YESTERDAY...WINDS GUSTED TO 31 KT AT PHOG YESTERDAY AFTERNOON...AND
33 KT AT MAALAEA BAY. THE SLIGHT WEAKENING OF THE PRESSURE GRADIENT
SHOULD KEEP WINDS TODAY A BIT BELOW YESTERDAYS LEVELS. THE CURRENT
GRIDS SEEM TO REFLECT THIS WELL.

ONCE THE TROUGH GOES BY AND THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE TO OUR NORTH
STRENGTHENS...WE WILL SEE TRADES RAMP UP TO THE MODERATE TO FRESH
RANGE LATE IN THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. WITH AN UPPER LEVEL
HIGH BUILDING OVER THE SURFACE RIDGE TO OUR NORTH...THE INCREASED
SUBSIDENCE SHOULD HELP TO LIMIT ANY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN LOW
LEVEL MOISTURE RIDING IN ON THE MARINE LAYER.

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

&&

R BALLARD

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, South Big Island

When: May 13, 2:00 PM HST to May 14, 5:00 PM HST
Where: South Big Island forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

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, May 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: 5446173.