Wildfire, Maui Windward West
- When
- June 25, 5:09 PM HST to June 27, 9:00 AM HST
- Where
- Maui Windward West forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, June 25 to 27, 2008
A fire burned 95 acres of brush in the West Maui State Forest Reserve near 3200 feet elevation. Initially, gusty winds around 30 to 40 mph hampered firefighters in battling the blaze.
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 95 acres of brush in the West Maui State Forest Reserve near 3200 feet elevation. Initially, gusty winds around 30 to 40 mph hampered firefighters in battling the blaze. Later on, however, winds decreased and the fire was brought under control. The fire had threatened native plants and animals. The cause of the blaze was unknown, and damage estimates were not available. There were no reports of serious 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 Jun 25, 3:52 PM HST, 1 hour 17 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 25, 3:52 PM HST, 1 hour 17 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 352 PM HST WED JUN 25 2008 .SYNOPSIS...A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL PREVAIL FAR NORTH OF THE STATE. THIS RIDGE WILL SLOWLY WEAKEN...ALLOWING TRADE WINDS TO WEAKEN AS WELL. CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL AFFECT MAINLY WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS. && .DISCUSSION... TRADE WINDS CONTINUE ACROSS THE STATE WITH A RIDGE STRETCHING ACROSS 30 N CONNECTING TWO HIGH PRESSURE CENTERS...ONE NEAR THE DATELINE AND THE OTHER NEAR 140 N. WIND SPEEDS ARE RANGING FROM 10 TO 20 MPH WITH WINDIER LOCATIONS REACHING 25 MPH. HAVE EXTENDED THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY THROUGH THE EVENING IN THE WINDIER WATERS AROUND THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI. MOST OF THE RAIN GAGES ACROSS THE STATE HAVE BEEN IDLE THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT RAIN FALLING AT MOUNT WAIALEALE AT 0.16 INCHES. TRADE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO NEXT WEEK. THE RIDGE IS FORECASTED TO MOVE SLOWLY SOUTH OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...ALLOWING THE TRADE WINDS TO GRADUALLY DECREASE. SHOWERS WILL REMAIN SCATTERED OVER WINDWARD AREAS AND ISOLATED OVER LEEWARD LOCATIONS. THE POES AMSU SATELLITE SOUNDER SHOWS THE LEADING EDGE OF AN AREA OF HIGHER MOISTURE IS 100 MILES EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND. THE GFS CAPTURES THIS FEATURE AND BRINGS THE MOISTURE INTO THE BIG ISLAND THURSDAY. HAVE INCREASED THE PRECIP FORECAST OVER THE WINDWARD AREAS AS THIS POCKET OF MOISTURE REACHES THE BIG ISLAND THURSDAY ...MAUI COUNTY AND OAHU THURSDAY NIGHT...AND KAUAI FRIDAY MORNING. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH REMAINS OVER THE STATE AND MODELS HAVE IT REMAINING IN OUR AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE AFTERNOON SOUNDINGS CONTINUE TO SHOW A STRONG INVERSION NEAR 7 THOUSAND FEET...SO THE UPPER LEVEL FEATURE IS NOT AFFECTING THE WEATHER IN THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE. THE GFS DOES SHOW THE INVERSION ERODING UNDER THE TROUGH THURSDAY GIVING MORE VALIDITY TO THE FORECASTED INCREASED SHOWERS AS THE POCKET OF HIGHER MOISTURE VALUES MOVE ACROSS THE STATE. && .MARINE... THE CURRENT SOUTH SWELL WILL SLOWLY SUBSIDE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS...THEN NEXT SOUTH SWELL IS EXPECTED BY THE WEEKEND. SURF ALONG SOUTH FACING SHORES SHOULD REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY LEVEL. SHORT PERIOD TRADE SWELL SHOULD KEEP SURF ELEVATED FOR EAST FACING SHORES...THOUGH AS THE WINDS DECREASE IN THE COMING DAYS...SO WILL THE TRADE SWELL. CURRENT WINDS ARE STILL STRONG ENOUGH TO WARRANT SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR SELECTED CHANNELS AND WATERS IN THE BIG ISLAND VICINITY. THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WILL LIKELY BE DROPPED TONIGHT. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT HST TONIGHT FOR MAALAEA BAY- PAILOLO CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND LEEWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND SOUTHEAST WATERS. && 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
- Rip Current in Florida, June 25, 2008
- Flash Flood and Hail in Iowa, June 25 to 26, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, June 25, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, June 25 to 26, 2008
- Lightning Strike in Illinois, June 25, 2008
- Flooding in Iowa, June 25 to 29, 2008
- Hail in Texas, June 25, 2008
- Lightning Strike in Florida, June 25, 2008
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Arkansas, June 25, 2008
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Missouri, June 25 to 26, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, June 25, 2008
- Damaging Winds in Louisiana, June 25, 2008
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, June 2008
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: 111494.