Wildfire, Kohala
- When
- January 30, 2:15 PM HST to January 31, 11:00 PM HST
- Where
- Kohala forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, January 30 to 31, 2007
Gusty south winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation were the ingredients necessary to sustain a wildfire that consumed about 2700 acres of brush in leeward Kohala on the Big Island. The fire burned a 3-mile swath along Highway 190 - Mamalahoa Highway - near its intersection with Waikoloa Road, around 10 miles south/southwest of Kamuela.
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.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
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.
Gusty south winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation were the ingredients necessary to sustain a wildfire that consumed about 2700 acres of brush in leeward Kohala on the Big Island. The fire burned a 3-mile swath along Highway 190 - Mamalahoa Highway - near its intersection with Waikoloa Road, around 10 miles south/southwest of Kamuela. Damage estimates were not available. There were no serious injuries. Downed electrical wires may have started the blaze.
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 Jan 30, 10:15 AM HST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 10:15 AM HST, 4 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1015 AM HST TUE JAN 30 2007 .SYNOPSIS...A WEAKENING FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING FAST MOVING SHOWERS TO THE SMALLER ISLANDS TODAY. ANOTHER STRONGER COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH KAUAI LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT. EXPECT MODERATE SOUTHWEST WINDS AND UNSETTLED WEATHER WITH PERIODS OF SHOWERS TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE STATE THROUGH THURSDAY. && .DISCUSSION...WINDS HAVE DECREASED MARKEDLY FROM YESTERDAY...BUT WILL REMAIN AT MODERATE SPEEDS TODAY. KAHULUI AIRPORT IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST WIND OBSERVATIONS THIS MORNING AT 28 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH. WINDS WILL INCREASE AGAIN WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...AND AN ADVISORY IS LIKELY WITH MODELS SHOWING SIMILAR WINDS ALOFT TO YESTERDAYS STRONG WIND EVENT. A COLD FRONT IS NOW LOCATED BETWEEN KAUAI AND OAHU CREATING FAST MOVING SHOWER BANDS THAT ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. AS OF 930 AM THESE SHOWERS ARE SPREAD BETWEEN KAUAI AND MAUI COUNTY BRINGING QUICK HITTING RAINFALL AMOUNTS TO PARTS OF THE ISLANDS. THE HIGHEST RAINFALL AMOUNT THIS MORNING WAS AT THE ST STEPHENS GAGE THAT RECEIVED 0.4 INCHES IN LESS THAN A HALF HOUR. THE NEXT FRONT IS POISED TO AFFECT OUR AREA TOMORROW AND WILL BRING IN UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT TO INCREASE OUR WINDS AGAIN WEDNESDAY. GLOBAL MODELS AGREEING NICELY WITH THE PROGRESSION AND TIMING OF THIS SYSTEM...PLACING THE COLD FRONT 150 MILES NORTHWEST OF KAUAI BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. WHILE THE MAIN FRONT WILL BE NORTHWEST OF THE ISLANDS...MODELS ARE DEVELOPING A STRONG CONVERGENCE BAND CENTERED OVER MAUI COUNTY WHICH WOULD BRING WIDESPREAD CLOUDS AND SHOWERS FROM OAHU TO THE BIG ISLAND. THE FRONT AND THE CONVERGENCE BAND MERGE THURSDAY NIGHT AND PUSH SOUTHEAST FRIDAY. THE FRONT FINALLY MOVES SOUTHEAST OF THE BIG ISLAND BY FRIDAY EVENING. NORTH WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY WILL VEER TO TRADE WINDS SUNDAY AND OUR WEATHER WILL BECOME DRY AND STABLE. && .MARINE...THE LARGE NORTHWEST SWELL CONTINUES TO PRODUCE EXTREMELY LARGE AND VERY ROUGH SURF ALONG NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS...EXCEPT LANAI AND KAHOOLAWE. BUOY ONE SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT NEAR 20 FEET WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 16 SECONDS AND THE WAIMEA BAY BUOY IS READING 18 FEET 16 SECONDS. THE SWELL WILL LIKELY PEAK THIS MORNING AND BEGIN TO SLOWLY TAPER OFF. THE WEST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND WILL ALSO EXPERIENCE LARGER THAN NORMAL SURF DUE TO THE WESTERLY COMPONENT OF THIS SWELL. THE HIGH SURF WILL LIKELY AFFECT THIS SHORELINE THROUGH TONIGHT AND INTO WEDNESDAY. THEREFORE...COASTAL FLOODING AND DAMAGING WAVES ARE A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY. THIS COULD BE AN ESPECIALLY SERIOUS PROBLEM DURING HIGH TIDE AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS CONTINUE ACROSS NEARLY ALL OF THE HAWAIIAN WATERS DUE TO LARGE SEAS AND/OR STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS. && .FIRE WEATHER...MODERATE SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE SLOPES OF HALEAKALA TODAY. A SERIES OF FAST MOVING SHOWERS WILL AFFECT MAUI TODAY AND WEDNESDAY. A STRONGER FRONT MAY BRING MORE SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL BY THURSDAY. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF WARNING UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR NIIHAU-KAUAI WINDWARD-KAUAI LEEWARD-WAIANAE COAST-OAHU NORTH SHORE-OAHU KOOLAU-MOLOKAI-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY-WINDWARD HALEAKALA-KONA-SOUTH BIG ISLAND-KOHALA. HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR BIG ISLAND NORTH AND EAST. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST THIS AFTERNOON FOR HALEAKALA SUMMIT- BIG ISLAND SUMMITS. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST THURSDAY FOR ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS EXCEPT MAALAEA BAY- && MORRISON
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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
- Lake-Effect Snow in Ohio, January 30 to 31, 2007
- Lake-Effect Snow in Pennsylvania, January 30 to 31, 2007
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 30 to 31, 2007
- Cold in Nebraska, January 30, 2007
- Frost and Freeze and Cold in Florida, January 30, 2007
- Winter Weather in Colorado, January 30 to 31, 2007
- Winter Weather in Maryland, January 30 to 31, 2007
- Cold in Iowa, January 30, 2007
- Winter Storm in West Virginia, January 30 to 31, 2007
- Waterspout in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, January 30, 2007
- Winter Weather in Utah, January 30 to 31, 2007
- Heavy Snow in Montana, January 30 to 31, 2007
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 2007
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: 9225.