Wildfire, Kohala
- When
- July 1, 8:16 AM HST to July 4, 6:00 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, July 1 to 4, 2007
A fire burned approximately 9100 acres of dry pasture land in the leeward section of the Big Island of Hawaii, about 2 miles south/southeast of Waikoloa Village. The blaze forced the closure of Mamalahoa Highway and Waikoloa Road for a time as crews worked to contain the fire's spread.
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.
A fire burned approximately 9100 acres of dry pasture land in the leeward section of the Big Island of Hawaii, about 2 miles south/southeast of Waikoloa Village. The blaze forced the closure of Mamalahoa Highway and Waikoloa Road for a time as crews worked to contain the fire's spread. There were no reports of property damage or injuries. Fire officials believed the fire was intentionally set.
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 1, 6:45 AM HST, 1 hour 31 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 1, 6:45 AM HST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 645 AM HST SUN JUL 1 2007 .UPDATE...A FIELD OF BROKEN TO OVERCAST LOW CLOUDS JUST UPWIND FROM THE ISLANDS REMAINS INTACT THIS MORNING...CAUSING MORE CLOUD AND SHOWER COVERAGE ACROSS WINDWARD AREAS OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS THAN ANTICIPATED. THE GRIDDED DATABASE AND FORECAST PACKAGE HAVE BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT THIS. && .SYNOPSIS...MODERATE TRADES WILL LANGUISH THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE COMING WEEK...THEN BUILD SLOWLY. INCREASED WINDWARD RAINFALL WILL SPREAD NORTHWEST FROM THE BIG ISLAND TO THE REST OF THE STATE...WHILE LEE SLOPES OF MOST ISLANDS WILL SEE A FEW SHOWERS EACH AFTERNOON. && .PREV DISCUSSION...MODERATE TRADE WINDS PERSISTED OVER THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS...AND THOUGH THEY HAD DIMINISHED FROM EARLIER IN THE WEEK...THEY HAD CHANGED LITTLE IN INTENSITY OVERNIGHT. RAIN ACCUMULATION REMAINED QUITE SPARSE OVER MOST PARTS OF THE STATE...THOUGH THE MODERATELY HIGH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES NEAR THE BIG ISLAND FINALLY WERE CULMINATING IN MORE WIDESPREAD RAINFALL ACROSS WINDWARD AREAS THERE. NO DOUBT NIGHTTIME CLOUD-TOP COOLING AND DEEPENING OF THE SURFACE MIXED LAYER CONTRIBUTED TOO...BUT IN ANY CASE THIS GREATER PRECIPITATION CAN BE EXPECTED TO SPREAD NORTHWEST TO WINDWARD PARTS OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS OR SO. GUIDANCE AGREES FAIRLY WELL THAT THE WEAK RIDGE ALOFT WILL ERODE FURTHER...LEAVING A COL IN ITS PLACE BY MONDAY. MUCH LOWER HEIGHTS TO THE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS WILL WEAKEN THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE AT THE SURFACE TOO...SO THE TRADES ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN ON THE SLOW SIDE OF AVERAGE...LEADING TO DIMINISHED OROGRAPHIC FORCING...THOUGH THE GREATER LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE AND DECREASED STABILITY SHOULD HELP KEEP CONDITIONS MODERATELY MOIST. MOST MODELS MAINTAIN A SHALLOW BUT PERSISTENT UPPER TROUGH OVER THE ISLANDS FROM MONDAY EVENING UNTIL THURSDAY OR FRIDAY...WHEN HEIGHTS WILL REBOUND AGAIN...ALLOWING THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE TO REBUILD AT THE SURFACE TOO. THE RESULTING STRONGER TRADES WILL PRODUCE GREATER OROGRAPHIC UPLIFT...COUNTERING THE INCREASED STABILITY. THUS... CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN CLOSE TO CLIMATOLOGY THROUGH THE WEEK. && .MARINE...A SOUTH SWELL IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE PRODUCING SURF JUST OVER THE ADVISORY LEVEL ALONG SOUTH-FACING SHORES THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... THE HIGH SURF ADVISORY CONTINUES FOR SOUTH-FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS THROUGH 6 PM HST MONDAY. && RYSHKO/POWELL
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
- Wildfire in Utah, July 1 to 12, 2007
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Kansas, July 1 to 4, 2007
- Flooding in Kansas, July 1 to 3, 2007
- Flooding in Missouri, July 1 to 7, 2007
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, July 1, 2007
- Flooding in Kansas, July 1 to 8, 2007
- Rip Current in North Carolina, July 1, 2007
- Flood in Oklahoma, July 1 to 9, 2007
- Drought in Mississippi, July 1 to 4, 2007
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Texas, July 1 to 3, 2007
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 1, 2007
- Drought in California, July 1 to 31, 2007
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, July 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: 43534.