Wildfire in Hawaii, November 18 to 22, 2008

Name: Wildfire in Hawaii, November 18 to 22, 2008
Start: 2008-11-18T12:00
End: 2008-11-22T14:00
Location: Hawaii

November 18 to 22, 2008 · NWS HFO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 power line, probably downed by high winds, ignited a fire on the isle of Lanai that blackened 1000 acres of brush. The blaze forced county officials to evacuate about 600 residents and guests of the Four Seasons Resort at Manele Bay for a brief time as a precaution. The fire persisted for four days because of dry conditions and gusty winds. There were no serious injuries. Damage estimates were not available.

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 Nov 18, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 18, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST TUE NOV 18 2008

.SYNOPSIS...
OCCASIONALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL SPREAD FROM OAHU AND MAUI COUNTY TO THE
BIG ISLAND TONIGHT...WHILE KAUAI EXPERIENCES WET TRADES. WINDS WILL
TURN SOUTHEASTERLY AND WEAKEN ACROSS THE STATE THROUGH THE WEEK.
RAINFALL WILL DIMINISH SLIGHTLY IN MOST AREAS THROUGH THURSDAY...BUT
THEN INCREASE GREATLY BY THE WEEKEND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
THE REMNANTS OF A DISSIPATING COLD FRONT CONTINUED TO DRIFT
SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS...BRINGING WITH THEM
PLENTIFUL MOISTURE THAT PRODUCED AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN UNDER THE
INFLUENCE OF A COLD POOL ALOFT ASSOCIATED WITH A TROUGH. THIS
MID-LEVEL TROUGH EXERTED ITS GREATEST INFLUENCE THIS MORNING...AND
WILL PASS AWAY TOWARD THE NORTHEAST BY TONIGHT...BUT NOT BEFORE
SUBJECTING MAUI COUNTY TO FURTHER DRENCHING. TONIGHT...THE FADING
FRONTAL REMNANTS AND DEPARTING TROUGH ALOFT ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD
THE HEAVY RAIN TO THE BIG ISLAND...AND MAY PRODUCE SOME SNOW OVER
THE SUMMITS.

SURFACE DATA FROM AROUND THE ISLANDS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN
WIND SPEED FROM THE PAST FEW DAYS...AND THIS TREND IS EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY AS THE SURFACE HIGH SHIFTS EAST. BY
FRIDAY...GUIDANCE GENERALLY AGREES THAT WINDS WILL BECOME WEAK
SOUTHEASTERLIES AHEAD OF ANOTHER APPROACHING FRONT. AT THE SAME
TIME...A NEW AND MORE VIGOROUS MID-LEVEL TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO DIG
SOUTH TOWARD THE STATE. ALTHOUGH THE FRONT MAY WELL STALL TO THE
WEST OF THE ISLANDS...CONVERGENCE IN THE SOUTHEAST FLOW AHEAD OF IT
WILL BRING MORE HEAVY RAIN TO SOUTHERLY SLOPES OF MOST ISLANDS.

BY THE WEEKEND...THIS COMBINATION OF CONVERGING MOIST AIR NEAR THE
SURFACE...AND A VIGOROUS COLD TROUGH ALOFT...CAN BE EXPECTED TO
PRODUCE SOME IMPRESSIVE PRECIPITATION. DETAILS DIFFER SOMEWHAT AMONG
SOLUTIONS...BUT MOST PLACE THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL BETWEEN OAHU AND
THE BIG ISLAND. IF THE LOW ALOFT CUTS OFF AS SOME RUNS SUGGEST...
THE HEAVY RAIN MAY CONTINUE INTO THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK.

WITH THE GROUND LIKELY STILL WET FROM THE CURRENT ACTIVITY...THE
WEEKEND DRENCHING MAY CAUSE SOME PROBLEMS. THUS...A HYDROLOGIC
OUTLOOK AND A FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL BE CONSIDERED AS THE EVENT
APPROACHES.

&&

.MARINE...
THE ROUGH SHORT-PERIOD NORTHEAST SWELL WILL CONTINUE TO BRING
ADVISORY-LEVEL SURF TO THE EAST SHORES OF KAUAI AND OAHU THROUGH
MUCH OF THE DAY TODAY.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR KAUAI WINDWARD-
OAHU KOOLAU-OLOMANA.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM HST THIS AFTERNOON FOR KAUAI
CHANNEL-KAIWI CHANNEL-MAALAEA BAY-PAILOLO CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA
CHANNEL.

&&

RYSHKO

In the hours before

Local storm report, Nov 18, 10:02 AM HST, 1 hour 58 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1002 AM HST TUE NOV 18 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0751 AM     FLASH FLOOD      1 E KAMALO              21.05N 156.86W
11/18/2008                   MOLOKAI IN MAUI    HI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            POLICE REPORTED HIGHWAY 450 CLOSED DUE TO FLOODING AT
            MILE POST 11.

&&

KODAMA

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Lanai Makai

When: November 18, 12:00 PM HST to November 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Lanai Makai forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper

Wildfire, Lanai Mauka

When: November 18, 12:00 PM HST to November 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Lanai Mauka forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 21.027, -156.788 (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

Every storm in Hawaii in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, November 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: 138375, 138376.