Name: Wildfire in Hawaii, July 4 to 5, 2010
Start: 2010-07-04T21:30
End: 2010-07-05T02:00
Location: Hawaii

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 scorched 200 acres of dry brush on Kamehame Ridge in Kalama Valley in Hawaii Kai on the island of Oahu. Dozens of residents, representing around 80 households, had to be temporarily evacuated as fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze late on the 4th and into the early hours of the 5th of July. The fire had threatened homes valued at more than $50 million. In the end, no homes were damaged or destroyed; and there were no serious injuries. Fire officials said the blaze was caused by an illegal, professional-grade aerial firework.

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 Jul 4, 7:40 PM HST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 7:40 PM HST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
740 PM HST SUN JUL 4 2010

.SYNOPSIS...
TRADE WIND WEATHER WILL REIGN OVER THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THIS
WEEK AND INTO THE UPCOMING WEEKEND AS HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS WELL
NORTH AND NORTHEAST OF THE STATE. THE SHOWERS BEARING CLOUDS CARRIED
BY THE TRADES WILL AFFECT MAINLY THE WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS OF THE
ISLANDS. SHOWERS WILL BE MOST ABUNDANT DURING THE LATE NIGHT AND
EARLY MORNING HOURS. ALSO...THE KONA SIDE OF THE BIG ISLAND MAY
EXPERIENCE AN ISOLATED AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWER OVER THE
DISTRICT AND ADJACENT WATERS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A BROAD...STRONG...HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WITH THE CENTER LOCATED
1700 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF THE STATE...CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHEAST
FURTHER AWAY FROM THE ISLANDS. A RIDGE EXTENDS WEST SOUTHWEST FROM
THE HIGH TO A POSITION FAR TO THE NORTH OF THE STATE. THIS PLACES
THE ISLANDS IN A MODERATE TRADE WIND ENVIRONMENT. AS THE HIGH MOVES
FURTHER AWAY DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...THE ASSOCIATED RIDGE
WILL SHIFT A BIT SOUTH. THIS WILL CAUSE OUR TRADE WINDS TO DROP OFF
A NOTCH FROM THE PRESENT LEVELS. THE HIGH IS FORECAST TO MOVE
CLOSER TO THE STATE LATER IN THE WEEK. THIS WILL RESULT IN THE
RETURN TO MODERATE TO LOCALLY STRONG TRADES BY THE WEEKEND.

THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS ENJOYED A RATHER DRY...SUNNY...SUNDAY
AFTER A DAMP SATURDAY. THIS CAME AFTER A LARGE BATCH OF CLOUDS AND
SHOWERS MOVED THROUGH THE ISLANDS 24 TO 36 HOURS AGO. A DRIER AIR
MASS FOLLOWED BEHIND.

THE LATEST SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS ANOTHER AREA OF SHOWERS CLOSING
IN ON THE ISLANDS. IT APPEARS WE WILL BE A LITTLE WETTER FOR TONIGHT
THAN LAST NIGHT. THE NEAREST POINT OF THIS AREA IS 60 MILES
NORTHEAST OF MAUI MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 15 MPH. AT THIS RATE...THE
ISLANDS WILL LIKELY EXPERIENCE SOME SHOWERS OVER THE WINDWARD AND
MOUNTAIN AREAS OF MAUI MOLOKAI AND THE BIG ISLAND BY 10 PM...OAHU
SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT AND KAUAI TOWARD SUNRISE MONDAY. THIS SHOWER
AREA EXTENDS NORTHEASTWARD FOR 500 MILES. SO...WE EXPECT THE
SHOWERY WEATHER TO LAST THROUGH A GOOD PART OF MONDAY MORNING. THE
WINDS AT CLOUD LEVEL WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO CARRY THESE SHOWERS
INTO THE LEEWARD ZONES.

THE LATEST WEATHER RADAR LOOP SHOWS SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS OVER THE
WINDWARD WATERS AND MOUNTAINS OF MAUI AND MOLOKAI...AND OAHU/S
WINDWARD WATERS. A COUPLE OF HEAVIER SHOWER ARE PRESENT BETWEEN
KAILUA KONA TOWN AND KEAUHOU.

THE CURRENT ZONAL FLOW AT THE UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE OVER
THE ISLANDS WILL CHANGE TOWARD MID WEEK WITH A LOW SETTING UP SHOP
A COUPLE OF HUNDRED MILES NORTH OF OAHU. THIS FEATURE IS EXPECTED
TO HAVE LITTLE IMPACT TO OUR WEATHER AT THIS TIME. THE LOW/S
PRESENCE WILL BE SHORT...FOR ABOUT 24 HOURS...BEFORE AN EASTERLY
WIND FLOW INVADES THE AIR SPACE FROM THE EAST.

&&

.MARINE...
THE WINDS AND SEAS WILL REMAIN BELOW SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CRITERIA
THROUGH FRIDAY BUT WINDS MAY PICK UP LATER IN THE WEEK AND INTO THE
WEEKEND TO REQUIRE A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THE USUAL WINDY AREAS
AROUND MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND.

SMALL...MAINLY BACKGROUND SOUTHERLY SWELLS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE
NEXT SEVERAL DAYS WITH A SLIGHT BUMP UP POSSIBLE AROUND NEXT
WEEKEND. THE LIGHTER TRADE WINDS WILL PROVIDE ONLY SMALL SHORT
PERIOD CHOPPY SURF ALONG EAST FACING SHORES WITH AN UPTICK EXPECTED
BY NEXT WEEKEND WITH THE STRENGTHENING TRADE WINDS. THE WAVEWATCH
MODEL ALSO INDICATES THERE MAY BE A SMALL OUT OF SEASON NORTHWEST
SWELL DURING THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. WE WILL TAKE A WAIT AND SEE
APPROACH AND ANALYZE HOW WELL THE SWELL PRODUCING LOW DEVELOPS.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.

&&

LAU

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Oahu South Shore

When: July 4, 9:30 PM HST to July 5, 2:00 AM HST
Where: Oahu South Shore forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper

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

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, July 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: 240722.