Wildfire, Oahu North Shore
- When
- August 31, 11:00 AM HST to 9:00 PM HST
- Where
- Oahu North Shore forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, August 31, 2010
Dry conditions helped sustain a brush fire near Waialua on the island of Oahu. The blaze scorched about 100 acres, destroyed at least one unoccupied agricultural building, and damaged some crops near Thompson's Corner on the 31st of the month.
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.
Dry conditions helped sustain a brush fire near Waialua on the island of Oahu. The blaze scorched about 100 acres, destroyed at least one unoccupied agricultural building, and damaged some crops near Thompson's Corner on the 31st of the month. The cost of the damages was not available. No injuries were reported. The fire also closed a section of Farrington Highway through the afternoon hours as firefighters tried to contain the blaze. Fire officials determined 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 31, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST TUE AUG 31 2010 .SYNOPSIS... WEAKENING HIGH PRESSURE FAR NORTH NORTHEAST OF OAHU WILL RESULT IN MODERATE TO LOCALLY FRESH TRADES TODAY...DECREASING TO GENTLE TO MODERATE LEVELS TOMORROW. HIGH PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN AGAIN FAR NORTH OF THE STATE ON FRIDAY...BRINGING AN INCREASE IN TRADE WINDS FOR THE WEEKEND. SHOWERS WILL FOCUS OVER WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS AND RESULT IN ONLY LIGHT RAINFALL AMOUNTS DUE TO A DRY AND STABLE ATMOSPHERE. && .DISCUSSION... VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY THIS MORNING SHOWS SCATTERED TO BROKEN LOW CLOUDS TRAVELLING IN THE TRADE FLOW. RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS ONLY A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS EMBEDDED WITHIN THESE CLOUDS. RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS HAVE BEEN LIGHT...WITH ONLY A COUPLE WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN RAIN GAGES ON KAUAI AND THE BIG ISLAND RECEIVING MODEST RAINFALL. 12Z UPPER AIR SOUNDINGS FROM LIHUE AND HILO SHOW PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES OF 1.12 AND 1.18 INCHES RESPECTIVELY...WHICH IS BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. GFS PRECIPITABLE WATER SHOWS BELOW NORMAL VALUES CONTINUING THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. ALSO...SUBSIDENCE FROM UPPER LEVEL RIDGING OVER THE STATE IS PRODUCING A STRONG LOW LEVEL INVERSION BETWEEN 7500 AND 8000 FEET ABOVE THE SURFACE...WHICH WILL LIMIT THE VERTICAL EXTENT OF CLOUDS. HOWEVER...GFS SHOWS THE INVERSION BEING LIFTED A LITTLE TOMORROW THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING DUE TO A SLIGHT DECREASE IN UPPER LEVEL HEIGHTS. THIS COULD BRING A SMALL INCREASE IN RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS DURING THAT TIME PERIOD. OTHERWISE...RAINFALL AMOUNTS SHOULD REMAIN LIGHT AS ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY AND DRY AIR CONTINUES THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. A 1032 MB SURFACE HIGH ABOUT 1400 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF OAHU IS BRINGING MODERATE TO FRESH TRADES TO THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THIS MORNING. THIS HIGH WILL START TO GET WEAKENED AND FORCED EASTWARD THROUGH TOMORROW NIGHT BY A FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE NORTHWEST. AS A RESULT...TRADES WILL WEAKEN TO GENTLE TO MODERATE LEVELS TOMORROW MORNING. AS THE FRONT STARTS TO DISSIPATE FRIDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD BACK IN BEHIND THE FRONT FAR NORTH OF THE STATE...CAUSING TRADES TO RE-STRENGTHEN. TRADES WILL REMAIN MODERATE TO FRESH AS THE RIDGE REMAINS FAR NORTH OF THE ISLANDS THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. WITH THE CONTINUED TRADES...SHOWERS WILL FOCUS OVER WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS...WITH A SPRINKLE OR TWO CROSSING INTO LEEWARD SECTIONS. HOWEVER...SEA BREEZES ARE POSSIBLE THURSDAY AFTERNOON DUE TO THE LIGHTER TRADES...RESULTING IN SOME CLOUDS AND SHOWERS FORMING OVER INTERIOR SECTIONS OF THE ISLANDS. GFS SHOWS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH FROM THE NORTHEAST MOVING NEAR THE ISLANDS EARLY NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER...ECMWF SHOWS THE TROUGH REMAINING FAR AWAY FROM THE STATE. WILL WAIT FOR MORE AGREEMENT FROM THE MODELS BEFORE MAKING ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE FORECAST. && .MARINE... THE SURF FORECAST IS LOOKING QUITE SLOW RIGHT NOW. THERE JUST HASNT BEEN ANY MAJOR SOUTHERN HEMI ACTIVITY WITH FAVORABLE AIM TOWARDS THE ISLANDS. SOME SMALL TASMAN ENERGY IS DUE FRI INTO THE WEEKEND... HOWEVER THIS WILL LIKELY NOT EXCEED WAIST HIGH WITH POOR CONSISTENCY GIVEN THE SCREEN OF ISLANDS IT HAS TO PASS THROUGH ON ITS WAY HERE. GUIDANCE DEVELOPS A HIGH AMPLITUDE TROUGH NEAR AND SOUTHEAST OF NEW ZEALAND OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS WITH A MODERATE FETCH OF GALE FORCE WINDS AIMED TOWARDS HAWAII. THIS SHOULD PRODUCE ANOTHER SMALL SHOT OF SWELL FROM ROUGHLY 200-205 DEGREES SHOWING AROUND THE 10TH REACHING WAIST TO CHEST HIGH. THE NORTH PACIFIC ISNT SHOWING ANY EARTH SHATTERING SIGNS OF LIFE JUST YET. ONLY WEAK BROAD MID LATITUDE TROUGHING OVER THE DATELINE NORTH OF 40N IS EXPECTED INCAPABLE OF PRODUCING ANY SURF LOCALLY. && .FIRE WEATHER... ALTHOUGH KBDI IS WELL ABOVE THE CRITICAL THRESHOLD OF 600 AND RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AT THE HONOLULU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ARE EXPECTED TO REACH 45 PERCENT TODAY...TRADES ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO SATISFY RED FLAG WARNING CONDITIONS. STRENGTHENING TRADES FRIDAY AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND WILL LIKELY RAISE FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS ONCE AGAIN. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && DISCUSSION/FIRE WEATHER...HARRISON MARINE...DEJESUS
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 Currents in New Jersey, August 31, 2010
- Damaging Winds and Heavy Rain in Minnesota, August 31, 2010
- Flood and Hail in Kansas, August 31, 2010
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 31, 2010
- Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, August 31, 2010
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, August 31, 2010
- Heat in Kansas, August 31, 2010
- Damaging Wind in Michigan, August 31, 2010
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, August 31, 2010
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Missouri, August 31, 2010
- Damaging Winds in Texas, August 31, 2010
- Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, August 31, 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: 249230.