Name: Wildfire in Hawaii, May 10, 2007
Start: 2007-05-10T13:15
End: 2007-05-10T15:55
Location: Hawaii

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 brush fire in West Oahu, fueled by dry vegetation, blackened 35 acres of kiawe and grass. The blaze got to within 150 feet of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where 200 patients and employees left as a precaution. Residents from six homes in Maili also evacuated as the fire neared. However, there were no serious injuries or property damage. The cause of the fire was unknown.

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 10, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 10, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST THU MAY 10 2007

.SYNOPSIS...

TRADE WINDS WILL BEGIN A SLOW DECLINE TONIGHT AS A STRONG HIGH NORTH
OF THE STATE SLOWLY WEAKENS. CLOUDS AND SHOWERS CONTINUE TO FAVOR
WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO FURTHER EASE OVER
THE WEEKEND...THEN SHIFT OUT OF THE EAST SOUTHEAST BY MID-WEEK.

&&

.SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...

1039MB SURFACE HIGH FAR NORTH OF THE STATE WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY
WEAKEN AND EDGE SOUTHWARD THROUGH FRIDAY. A DEVELOPING LOW IN THE
GULF OF ALASKA WILL FURTHER WEAKEN THE HIGH THIS WEEKEND...AND SHIFT
IT CLOSER TO THE CALIFORNIA COAST. 17Z QUIKSCAT PASS CENTERED OVER
THE NORTHWESTERN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SHOWED WINDS OF 25 KTS IN THE
KAUAI CHANNEL...WHICH WAS ON THE VERY EASTERN EDGE OF THE SWATH. 12Z
GFS RUN SHOWS THE HIGH DROPPING SOUTHWARD AS IT WEAKENS...WHICH
MANAGES TO MAINTAIN THE STRONGER GRADIENT ACROSS THE STATE THROUGH
TONIGHT. WINDS BEGIN TO DROP OFF ON FRIDAY...MORE SO ON SATURDAY.

A TYPICAL TRADEWIND RAINFALL PATTERN IS EXPECTED THROUGH SATURDAY.
16Z-17Z ACARS SOUNDINGS OUT OF PHNL/PHKO ARE SIMILAR TO THE 12Z
RAOBS AT PHLI/PHTO...SHOWING A STRONGER INVERSION NEAR 7000 FT
OVER THE BIG ISLAND AND A WEAKER YET LOWER INVERSION FARTHER WEST.
GIVEN THE STRONGER WINDS PERSISTING THROUGH TODAY...SHOWERS WILL
HAVE A BETTER CHANCE AT MAKING IT OVER THE RIDGES. WILL MENTION A
FEW SHOWERS FOR LEEWARD AREAS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AS WELL.

WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A WEAK LOW NEAR 27N 168W...MOVING
SOUTHEASTWARD AT 20 MPH. GFS SHOWS THIS FEATURE DISSIPATING BY
TONIGHT. WHILE IT DOES NOT REACH THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS...IT DOES
HELP TO WEAKEN THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE FURTHER. FORECAST SOUNDINGS
SHOW INVERSION HEIGHTS LIFTING A FEW THOUSAND FEET BY FRIDAY...
ALLOWING FOR A GREATER MOISTURE DEPTH AND POTENTIAL FOR HEAVIER
PRECIPITATION. SIMILAR AREAL COVERAGE EXPECTED THOUGH GIVEN AVERAGE
AMOUNTS OF MOISTURE UPSTREAM...WITH SHOWERS FOCUSED ACROSS WINDWARD
AND MAUKA AREAS.

&&

.LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...

GFS/ECMWF/NOGAPS HAVE BEEN PRETTY SIMILAR IN DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE
TO OUR WEST NEAR THE DATELINE. HOWEVER THE EVENTUAL TRACK OF THIS
LOW HAS BEEN RATHER VARIABLE...WITH SOME QUESTION AS TO WHETHER A
SURFACE TROUGH WILL MAKE IT DOWN TO THE ISLANDS. 12Z RUN OF THE GFS
SHOWS THE SURFACE RIDGE HOLDING FAST JUST NORTH OF THE STATE THROUGH
THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. THIS IS IS LINE WITH THE RECENT
TRENDS IN THE GFS...WHICH HAVE SLOWLY BACKED AWAY FROM THE KONA FLOW
AHEAD OF THE TROUGH. THE SYNOPTIC WINDS MAY VEER JUST SOUTH OF EAST
BY THE END OF THE PERIOD AS THE SURFACE RIDGE IS SUPPRESS SOUTHWARD.
HOWEVER WIND SPEEDS WILL BE LIGHT...WHICH WILL MORE FAVOR LOCALLY
DRIVEN DIURNAL LAND/SEA BREEZES. INSTABILITY INCREASES EVEN IN THE
NEW GFS AS HEIGHTS BEGIN TO FALL WITH THE SYSTEM TO THE NORTHWEST.
THIS ADDS FURTHER SUPPORT FOR A MORE CONVECTIVELY DRIVEN
PRECIPITATION PATTERN...FEATURING AFTERNOON/EVENING SHOWERS ACROSS
THE INTERIOR OF THE ISLANDS.

&&

.MARINE...

WITH WINDS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AT THEIR CURRENT LEVELS...SMALL
CRAFT ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH TONIGHT FOR ALL
CHANNELS...AS WELL AS THE WINDIER LOCATIONS SUBJECT TO FUNNELING
NEAR SOUTH POINT AND MAALAEA BAY.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR KAUAI CHANNEL-KAIWI CHANNEL-PAILOLO
CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND LEEWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND
SOUTHEAST WATERS THROUGH TONIGHT.

&&

BRAVENDER

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, Waianae Coast

When: May 10, 1:15 PM HST to 3:55 PM HST
Where: Waianae Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (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

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, May 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: 27025.