Wildfire, Big Island Interior
- When
- August 22, 8:00 AM HST to August 31, 5:00 PM HST
- Where
- Big Island Interior forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, August 22 to 31, 2010
A brush fire blackened almost 1400 acres near the US Army's Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) on the south-facing slope of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The fire began near Mauna Kea State Recreation Area, about a quarter-mile east of the PTA main gate, on Sunday morning, August 22nd.
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 brush fire blackened almost 1400 acres near the US Army's Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) on the south-facing slope of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The fire began near Mauna Kea State Recreation Area, about a quarter-mile east of the PTA main gate, on Sunday morning, August 22nd. The blaze was difficult to contain because of its elevation - above 6000 feet - and because of the dry and breezy conditions the firefighters encountered. The fire also forced county officials to close a portion of Saddle Road that had been affected by the blaze from Sunday until Wednesday morning, the 25th. The blaze was contained by the end of the month. No significant injuries or property damage were reported, though the fire destroyed critical habitat and food sources for native palila forest birds. Officials determined that the fire had been deliberately 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 Aug 22, 4:00 AM HST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 4:00 AM HST, 4 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 AM HST SUN AUG 22 2010 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE FAR NORTH OF THE ISLANDS WILL PRODUCE MODERATE TO FRESH TRADE WINDS AND MAINLY WINDWARD AND MAUKA SHOWERS THROUGH THE WEEK. ANY RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE GENERALLY LIGHT. && .DISCUSSION... THE MOSTLY STABLE CLOUD FIELD THAT MOVED IN ON THE TRADE WIND FLOW MANAGED TO PRODUCE SOME RAINFALL OVERNIGHT...BUT EXPECT SHOWERS TO TAPER OFF RAPIDLY THIS MORNING. WINDWARD BIG ISLAND RECEIVED THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF RAINFALL...WITH SEVERAL SITES REGISTERING MORE THAN 0.1 OF AN INCH. ONLY A FEW HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH WERE RECORDED ACROSS WINDWARD PORTIONS OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS. THE CLOUD FIELD HAS MANAGED TO PUSH UP THE INVERSION TO AROUND 7 KFT. HOWEVER...AT 1.1 INCHES...PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES REMAIN BELOW NORMAL...AND STRONG RIDGING ALOFT OVER THE STATE CONTINUES TO PRODUCE VERY STABLE CONDITIONS. AS A RESULT...EXPECT GREATER THAN NORMAL CLOUD COVERAGE AND SOME LINGERING LIGHT SHOWERS OVER MAINLY WINDWARD AREAS EARLY THIS MORNING...GIVING WAY TO RATHER DRY CONDITIONS FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. MODERATE TO LOCALLY BREEZY TRADE WINDS WILL HANG ON TODAY. A 1028 MB HIGH 1250 MILES NORTH OF THE STATE IS MAINTAINING THE GUSTY TRADES DUE TO A STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT OF AROUND 4 MB BETWEEN BUOYS 51101 AND 51003. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN UNCHANGED TODAY...THEN START A GRADUAL DECLINE AS THE HIGH BEGINS TO WEAKEN TONIGHT. ONLY SUBTLE CHANGES ARE IN STORE FOR THE NEW WORK WEEK. ALTHOUGH STABLE CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST...THE UPPER RIDGE WILL BE ERODED SOMEWHAT BY AN UPPER LOW DEVELOPING SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES EAST OF THE STATE. THIS WILL RAISE THE INVERSION SLIGHTLY AND MAY LEAD TO A SLIGHT INCREASE IN SHOWERS...BUT ANY INCREASE WILL BE MODEST AND FELT MAINLY ACROSS WINDWARD AREAS. TRADES WILL WEAKEN SLIGHTLY AS THE HIGH NORTH OF THE ISLANDS IS PUSHED OFF TO THE EAST. FORECAST MODELS SHOW A VERY STRONG HIGH PASSING NORTH OF THE STATE DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE WORK WEEK. HOWEVER...AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH BETWEEN THE STATE AND THE SURFACE HIGH WILL NOT ALLOW THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT TO TIGHTEN MUCH OVER THE ISLANDS. SO...MODERATE TO LOCALLY BREEZY TRADES ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE. && .FIRE WEATHER... A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR LEEWARD PORTIONS OF THE STATE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO THE DRY AND STABLE ATMOSPHERE AND LOCALLY BREEZY TRADES. CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN BORDERLINE FOR THE PAST TWO DAYS...AND WITH A SLIGHT DECLINE IN WINDS FORECAST FOR MONDAY...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BEGIN THE NEW WORK WEEK. && .AVIATION... THE STABLE CONDITIONS AND BREEZY TRADE WINDS CONTINUE TO PRODUCE MODERATE LOW LEVEL TURBULENCE IN THE LEE OF ALL ISLANDS. AIRMET TANGO FOR TURBULENCE WILL LIKELY CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY. NOTICE: THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU WILL PRESENT A SERIES OF WEATHER TRAINING SEMINARS FOR THE AVIATION COMMUNITY. FOR MORE INFORMATION...PLEASE EMAIL W-HFO.AVIATION@NOAA.GOV OR VISIT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/HAWAII/ && .MARINE... A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THE TYPICALLY WINDY WATERS AND CHANNELS AROUND THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT. WITH A SLIGHT DECLINE IN THE TRADES EXPECTED FOR TOMORROW...THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY MAY BE DROPPED MONDAY MORNING. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 6 PM HST TODAY FOR NIIHAU-KAUAI LEEWARD-OAHU SOUTH SHORE-WAIANAE COAST-OAHU NORTH SHORE-CENTRAL OAHU-MOLOKAI LEEWARD-LANAI MAKAI-KAHOOLAWE-MAUI LEEWARD WEST- MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY-LEEWARD HALEAKALA-KONA-SOUTH BIG ISLAND- KOHALA. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST MONDAY FOR MAALAEA BAY- PAILOLO CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND LEEWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND SOUTHEAST WATERS. && WROE
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 Indiana, August 22, 2010
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in New York, August 22 to 23, 2010
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 22, 2010
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, August 22, 2010
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 22, 2010
- Damaging Winds and High Wind in Utah, August 22, 2010
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, August 22, 2010
- Flooding in New York, August 22 to 23, 2010
- Flooding in New York, August 22 to 27, 2010
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, August 22, 2010
- Tornado in Pennsylvania, August 22, 2010
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, August 22, 2010
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, August 2010
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: 248375.