Wildfire, Big Island Interior
- When
- October 4, 11:00 AM HST to October 6, 7:00 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, October 4 to 6, 2011
A fire consumed about 1150 acres of dry brush at the Army's Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) on the Big Island of Hawaii. A portion of Saddle Road was closed for a time because of the blaze; the fire was on the southwest side of the route near mile marker 45.
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 fire consumed about 1150 acres of dry brush at the Army's Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) on the Big Island of Hawaii. A portion of Saddle Road was closed for a time because of the blaze; the fire was on the southwest side of the route near mile marker 45. The cause of the blaze was unknown. No significant injuries or property damage were reported.
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 Oct 4, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 4, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST TUE OCT 4 2011 .SYNOPSIS... THE TRADE WINDS WILL WEAKEN SLIGHTLY THURSDAY AS THE HIGH TO THE NORTH SHIFTS EASTWARD. HIGH CLOUDS ARE APT TO BE THINNER TOMORROW AND SHOULD CLEAR BY LATE FRIDAY AS AN UPPER TROUGH TO THE NORTH SWINGS OVER THE ISLANDS. A TRADE WIND WEATHER PATTERN WILL BRING PASSING SHOWERS...WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS BEING THE WETTEST...BUT AT TIMES LEEWARD AREAS ALSO AFFECTED. && .DISCUSSION... SHOWERS THIS MORNING MAINLY AFFECTED OAHU AND KAUAI...OAHU RECEIVING ONE QUARTER TO AS MUCH AS ONE HALF INCH IN THE 6 HOURS ENDING AT 8 AM. THESE SHOWERS WERE PROBABLY REMNANT MOISTURE FROM AN OLD FRONT. IT IS DIFFICULT TO BE PRECISE ABOUT DIFFERENCES IN THE FREQUENCY OF THESE PASSING TRADE WIND SHOWERS...TYPICALLY MORE SHOWERS WILL OCCUR AT NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING UNDER THE STABLE TRADE WIND WEATHER PATTERN. THE HIGH CLOUDINESS IS RIDING A LONG TRAJECTORY FROM THE SOUTHWEST WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH AN UPPER ATMOSPHERIC TROUGH TO THE WEST AND NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. BY FRIDAY MORNING THE TROUGH TO THE NORTH BECOMES MORE DOMINANT AND BY SATURDAY AN UPPER LOW PINCHES OFF OVER THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. THIS DOES NOT BRING SIGNIFICANT INSTABILITY...THE TRADE WIND WEATHER PATTERN WILL PERSIST. TRADE WINDS PRESENTLY ARE GUSTING AS HIGH AS 25 TO NEAR 30 MPH AROUND MAUI COUNTY. TRADES WILL WEAKEN SLIGHTLY THURSDAY BUT STILL REMAIN IN THE MODERATE TO FRESH RANGE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE SURFACE HIGH WILL BE TO THE NORTHEAST OVER THE WEEKEND BUT THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL BE WEAKER. && .MARINE... THE PRESENT FRESH LOCALLY STRONG TRADE WINDS WILL DECREASE SLIGHTLY THURSDAY. THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES IN EFFECT FOR THE USUAL WINDY WATERS AROUND MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND MAY BE CANCELED THURSDAY. THE HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR ALL SOUTH FACING SHORES CONTINUES THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE LARGE SOUTH SWELL IS NEAR 4 FEET AT AN ESPECIALLY LONG PERIOD OF 20 SECONDS. BUOY 51003 ABOUT 200 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF OAHU HAS SHOWN A SMALL INCREASE IN SWELL THIS MORNING. THE PEAK OF THIS SWELL WILL PROBABLY BE EARLY THIS EVENING. THE ORIGINATING STORM FAR SOUTH OF HAWAII ABOUT A WEEK AGO PERSISTED FOR 2 DAYS. THE ADVISORY SIZE SURF MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED INTO THURSDAY MORNING. THERE IS PRESENTLY A SMALL NORTH SWELL WHICH WILL BE REINFORCED BY SEVERAL MORE SMALL NORTHWEST SWELLS INTO THE WEEKEND. ADVISORY SIZED SURF REACHING 15 FEET ON THE NORTHERN SHORES MAY OCCUR EARLY NEXT TUESDAY. && .FIRE WEATHER... A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FOR MAINLY LEEWARD ZONES. ALTHOUGH THE KEETCH BYRAM DROUGHT INDEX /KBDI/ USED TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS THE STATE IS JUST ABOVE 600 AT THE HONOLULU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THE WINDS ARE APT TO BE JUST UNDER 20 MPH SUSTAINED AND THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY MAY NOT DROP DOWN TO 45% THIS AFTERNOON. THEREFORE THE RED FLAG WARNING MIGHT BE CANCELLED THIS AFTERNOON. && .AVIATION... CONTINUATION OF AIRMET TANGO REMAINS IN EFFECT DUE TO BRISK TRADES CAUSING LOW LEVEL TURB DOWNWIND OF HIGH TERRAIN. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 6 PM HST TUESDAY FOR KAUAI LEEWARD-OAHU SOUTH SHORE-WAIANAE COAST-OLOMANA-WAIANAE MOUNTAINS-MOLOKAI LEEWARD-MAUI LEEWARD WEST-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY-LEEWARD HALEAKALA- KONA-SOUTH BIG ISLAND-KOHALA. HIGH SURF ADVISORY FROM 6 AM HST TUESDAY UNTIL 6 PM HST WEDNESDAY FOR SOUTH FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 9 AM HST THURSDAY FOR MAALAEA BAY- PAILOLO CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND LEEWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND SOUTHEAST WATERS. && HOAG
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
- Dust Storm in Arizona, October 4, 2011
- Wildfire in Nebraska, October 4 to 5, 2011
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Massachusetts, October 4, 2011
- Dust Storm in Arizona, October 4, 2011
- High Surf in Hawaii, October 4 to 7, 2011
- Wildfire in South Dakota, October 4 to 7, 2011
- Wildfire in Iowa, October 4 to 7, 2011
- Drought in Florida, October 4 to 25, 2011
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in California, October 4 to 6, 2011
- Winter Storm in California, October 4 to 5, 2011
- High Wind in Oregon, October 4, 2011
- Drought in Texas, October 4 to 31, 2011
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, October 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: 346696.