Wildfire, Kauai Windward
- When
- August 17, 2:00 PM HST to 6:00 PM HST
- Where
- Kauai Windward forecast zone
- Property damage
- $950,000
- Reported by
- Newspaper
Wildfire in Hawaii, August 17, 2011
A blaze fanned by strong winds that burned about 50 acres of dry brush in Koloa also destroyed two homes and damaged three others, leaving eight people homeless. County officials believe the fire was started by a lit cigarette, though they doubted it was intentional.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $950,000
- 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 blaze fanned by strong winds that burned about 50 acres of dry brush in Koloa also destroyed two homes and damaged three others, leaving eight people homeless. County officials believe the fire was started by a lit cigarette, though they doubted it was intentional. There were no serious injuries. The costs of damages were put at $950,000.
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 17, 10:00 AM HST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 17, 10:00 AM HST, 4 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST WED AUG 17 2011 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS WILL MAINTAIN MODERATE TO FRESH TRADE WINDS THROUGH SATURDAY...BEFORE DECREASING SLIGHTLY ON SUNDAY. SHOWERS WILL FOCUS OVER WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS AND MAXIMIZE IN COVERAGE DURING THE NIGHT-TIME AND EARLY MORNING HOURS. SOME SHOWERS WILL CROSS INTO LEEWARD SECTIONS AT TIMES. && .DISCUSSION... VISIBLE SATELLITE AND RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS THAT THE BAND OF LOW CLOUDS AND EMBEDDED SHOWERS THAT WAS PRODUCING AN INCREASE IN SHOWERS OVER WINDWARD AREAS FROM OAHU TO THE BIG ISLAND HAS STARTED TO DISSIPATE LATE THIS MORNING. THIS TREND SHOULD CONTINUE AS THE USUAL DIURNAL MINIMUM IN TRADE SHOWER ACTIVITY TAKES PLACE THIS AFTERNOON. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS BROAD UPPER LEVEL RIDGING OVER THE STATE...WHICH IS RESULTING IN A STABLE ATMOSPHERE. 12Z UPPER AIR SOUNDINGS FROM LIHUE AND HILO SHOW STRONG CAPPING INVERSIONS AT 6500 AND 9000 FT RESPECTIVELY. THIS IS LIMITING THE VERTICAL EXTENT OF SHOWERS...AND THUS THE SHOWERS ARE PRODUCING ONLY LIGHT RAINFALL. MODELS INDICATE THAT UPPER LEVEL RIDGING WILL REMAIN IN PLACE OVER THE ISLANDS THROUGH MOST OF NEXT WEEK...SO THE ATMOSPHERE SHOULD REMAIN STABLE. THIS...IN ADDITION TO NO SIGNIFICANT SURGES IN MOISTURE...MEANS THAT RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM TRADE SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO BE ON THE LIGHT SIDE THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. AT THE SURFACE...SUBTROPICAL RIDGING ABOUT 700 MILES NORTH OF OAHU CONTINUES TO BRING MODERATE TO FRESH TRADES TO THE STATE. THIS RIDGE WILL REMAIN AT ABOUT THIS DISTANCE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...ALTHOUGH A FRONT PASSING FAR TO THE NORTH MAY WEAKEN THE RIDGE A LITTLE STARTING SUNDAY...WHICH WOULD IN TURN WEAKEN THE TRADES SLIGHTLY. WITH TRADES CONTINUING THROUGH NEXT WEEK...SHOWERS WILL FOCUS OVER WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS AND MAXIMIZE IN COVERAGE DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. SOME SHOWERS WILL CROSS INTO LEEWARD SECTIONS AT TIMES. TROPICAL STORM FERNANDA IS NEAR 11.8N 137.8W...OR ABOUT 1290 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF SOUTH POINT ON THE BIG ISLAND...MOVING TOWARD THE WEST AT 9 MPH. WE WILL KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON ANY DEVELOPMENTS. PLEASE SEE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER PRODUCTS FOR UPDATES ON THIS SYSTEM AT WWW.NHC.NOAA.GOV OR PUBLIC ADVISORIES UNDER WMO HEADER WTPZ31 KNHC AND UNDER AWIPS HEADER MIATCPEP1. && .AVIATION... VFR WILL PREVAIL FOR THE TERMINALS TODAY. PHNY MAY SEE BRIEF CIGS BTN 025-030 AFT 22Z. CLDS/-SHRA WILL REMAIN FOCUSED ON WINDWARD TERRAIN. ELSEWHERE DAYTIME MIXING/TRADES WILL SCOUR OUT ANY BKN-OVC CLOUDS BETWEEN 040-060. TRADES WILL REMAIN GUSTY TODAY. AIRMET TANGO REMAINS POSTED FOR LLVL LEE TURB. && .MARINE... A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY.../SCA/...REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE TYPICALLY WINDIER WATERS AROUND THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI COUNTY THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. WITH BREEZY TRADES EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY...THE SCA MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED AT SOME POINT. THE CURRENT SOUTH-SOUTHWEST SWELL WILL GRADUALLY DECLINE THROUGH THE REST OF THIS WEEK. WAVE WATCH III MODEL IS HINTING AT ANOTHER MODERATE SOUTH SWELL DUE TO ARRIVE MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY NEXT WEEK. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST FRIDAY FOR MAALAEA BAY...PAILOLO CHANNEL...ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL AND WATERS SOUTH OF THE BIG ISLAND. && DISCUSSION/MARINE...HARRISON AVIATION...DEJESUS
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
- Wildfire in Texas, August 17 to 31, 2011
- Heat in Montana, August 17, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Wind in South Dakota, August 17, 2011
- Wildfire in Texas, August 17, 2011
- Wildfire in Texas, August 17, 2011
- Wildfire in Arkansas, August 17, 2011
- Hail in South Dakota, August 17, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, August 17, 2011
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Arizona, August 17, 2011
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, August 17 to 18, 2011
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Texas, August 17, 2011
- Wildfire in Washington, August 17 to 22, 2011
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, August 2011
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: 333174.