Wildfire, Big Island North and East
- When
- March 1, 2:10 PM HST to March 4, 9:00 PM HST
- Where
- Big Island North and East forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
Wildfire in Hawaii, March 1 to 4, 2008
A fire blackened 2600 acres of brush on the middle slopes of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, directly upslope from Hakalau near the 6000-foot elevation. The dry conditions in the area were the main factor in allowing the blaze to spread.
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 blackened 2600 acres of brush on the middle slopes of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, directly upslope from Hakalau near the 6000-foot elevation. The dry conditions in the area were the main factor in allowing the blaze to spread. No serious injuries or property damage were reported. 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 Mar 1, 9:30 AM HST, 4 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 9:30 AM HST, 4 hours 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 930 AM HST SAT MAR 01 2008 .SYNOPSIS... LIGHT WINDS AND RELATIVELY DRY CONDITIONS ARE SLATED FOR THE WEEKEND AND INTO THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL ALLOW LOCAL DAYTIME SEA BREEZES AND NIGHTTIME LAND BREEZES TO DEVELOP. THE SEABREEZE AND DAYTIME HEATING WILL RESULT IN SOME AFTERNOON CLOUDS AND ISOLATED LIGHT MAUKA SHOWERS. A MORE NORMAL MODERATE TRADE WIND REGIME WILL RETURN BY WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS EXPECTED FOR THE WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES. && .DISCUSSION... THE SURFACE RIDGE HAS DRIFTED BACK OVER THE ISLANDS THIS MORNING. ONLY LIGHT TRADES PERSIST AT THE WINDIER LOCATIONS ACROSS KAHOOLAWE AND THE BIG ISLAND. A FEW SHOWERS MOVING ALONG IN THE TRADE FLOW ARE DUE TO CLIP THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN SHORES AND SLOPES OF THE BIG ISLAND TODAY...OTHERWISE DRY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL. STABILITY PROFILES FROM LATEST ACARS AND 12Z RAOB DATA CONTINUES TO SHOW A STRONG CAPPING INVERSION AT ABOUT 6000 FEET MSL. SO EXPECT ANY AFTERNOON CONVECTION OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS TO RESULT IN FLAT CUMULUS AND A SPRINKLE AT MOST. SOME HAZE AND VOG BUILD-UP NOTED ON VIS SAT IMAGERY WEST OF THE BIG ISLAND IN THE DOWNSTREAM TRADE EDDY WILL LIKELY WORK ITS WAY INTO THE SMALLER ISLANDS AND PERSIST INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS DRY PATTERN IS EXPECTED TO CHANGE LITTLE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK AS THE LONGWAVE PATTERN ACROSS THE PACIFIC STAYS IN A BIT OF A RUT. THIS KEEPS A RIDGE OVER OR NEAR THE ISLANDS AND RESULTS IN LIGHT WINDS AND BELOW NORMAL POPS. A SLIGHT SHIFT IN THIS PATTERN IS FORECAST BY THE MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE FOR THE MIDDLE TO LAST PART OF NEXT WEEK. THE RIDGE POSITION SHIFTS FURTHER NORTH OF THE ISLANDS AND ALLOWS FOR A PERIOD OF LIGHT TO MODERATE TRADES. THE LATEST GFS SUGGESTS THAT THIS WILL BE SHORT LIVED AS THE RIDGE SHIFTS BACK OVER THE STATE NEXT WEEKEND. && .MARINE... THE NORTHWEST SWELL HAS CONTINUED ITS SLOW DECLINE THIS MORNING AND THIS TREND TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. ANOTHER LESS ENERGETIC NORTHWEST SWELL WILL BE ARRIVING SUNDAY NIGHT AND PEAKING EARLY TUESDAY WITH SURF HEIGHTS STAYING WELL BELOW ADVISORY LEVELS. A STRONGER NORTHWEST SWELL WILL ARRIVE LATE TUESDAY WITH SURF APPROACHING ADVISORY LEVELS WEDNESDAY. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && BRENCHLEY
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
- Winter Weather in Vermont, March 1, 2008
- Drought in Alabama, March 1 to 31, 2008
- Winter Storm in Vermont, March 1, 2008
- Winter Weather in New York, March 1, 2008
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, March 1 to 4, 2008
- Drought in Tennessee, March 1 to 31, 2008
- Flooding in Missouri, March 1 to 7, 2008
- Heavy Snow in Maine, March 1, 2008
- Flooding in Indiana, March 1 to 2, 2008
- Heavy Snow in Maine, March 1 to 2, 2008
- Drought in Texas, March 1 to 31, 2008
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, March 1, 2008
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 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: 83879.