Wildfire, Molokai Leeward
- When
- January 29, 1:00 PM HST to January 31, 8:30 PM HST
- Where
- Molokai Leeward forecast zone
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Newspaper
Wildfire in Hawaii, January 29 to 31, 2012
A fire burned about 200 acres of brush near Kaunakakai on Molokai. The blaze came within 50 feet of homes in Kalamaula Mauka just west of Kaunakakai, and damaged a shipping container with $5000 worth of appliances inside.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $5,000
- 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 fire burned about 200 acres of brush near Kaunakakai on Molokai. The blaze came within 50 feet of homes in Kalamaula Mauka just west of Kaunakakai, and damaged a shipping container with $5000 worth of appliances inside. There were no reports of serious injuries.
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 Jan 29, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST SUN JAN 29 2012 .SYNOPSIS... THE CURRENT NORTHWEST SWELL IS SUBSIDING...BUT ANOTHER VERY LARGE SWELL WILL ARRIVE TONIGHT AND BUILD RAPIDLY ON MONDAY. A STRONG SURFACE HIGH FAR NORTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS WILL PRODUCE BREEZY TRADE WINDS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. A RIDGE ALOFT WILL KEEP THE WEATHER MOSTLY DRY. THE TRADES WILL WEAKEN TUESDAY AS A FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST. THE FRONT MAY BRING WETTER WEATHER THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. THE FRONT WILL DISSIPATE ON SATURDAY AND A SURFACE RIDGE WILL MOVE OVER THE ISLANDS BRINGING LIGHT WINDS AND DRY WEATHER. && .DISCUSSION... ANOTHER VERY LARGE SWELL WILL ARRIVE TONIGHT AND WILL LIKELY PRODUCE WARNING LEVEL SURF BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. WE EXPECT TO ISSUE A HIGH SURF WARNING THIS EVENING FOR THE NEW SWELL. A FAIRLY STRONG 1028 MB SURFACE HIGH FAR NORTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS WILL PRODUCE BREEZY TRADE WINDS THROUGH MONDAY. A RIDGE ALOFT WILL MAKE THE ATMOSPHERE VERY STABLE...SO RAINFALL WILL REMAIN LIGHT FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. A FRONT WILL MOVE TOWARD THE ISLANDS FROM THE NORTHWEST ON TUESDAY. AS THE FRONT APPROACHES...THE SURFACE RIDGE WILL MOVE SOUTH AND WEAKEN AND OUR TRADE WINDS WILL SUBSIDE. THE FRONT WILL WEAKEN TO A SHEAR LINE AND MOVE NEAR THE ISLANDS AROUND THURSDAY OR FRIDAY. THE MODELS DO NOT AGREE ON WHETHER THE FRONT WILL ACTUALLY REACH THE ISLANDS BUT WETTER WEATHER IS LIKELY THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. ON SATURDAY...REMNANTS OF THE FRONT WILL DISSIPATE AND THE WEATHER WILL TURN RATHER DRY AGAIN. THE SURFACE RIDGE WILL MOVE SOUTH CLOSER TO THE ISLANDS AND OUR WINDS WILL WEAKEN. THE TRADE WINDS COULD DIE OVER THE WEEKEND BUT THE MODELS ARE NOT IN GOOD AGREEMENT YET ON THE WINDS. && .FIRE WX... IT WILL REMAIN QUITE DRY FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND THE WINDS WILL BE RATHER STRONG TODAY. RED FLAG CONDITIONS WOULD HAVE BEEN REACHED YESTERDAY EXCEPT THAT THE KBDI WAS SLIGHTLY LOW. THE KBDI IS NOW 601..SO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS UP. && .MARINE... THE NORTHWEST SWELL HAS SUBSIDED...BUT RATHER STRONG TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS IN THE WINDY AREAS AROUND MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND SO A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY... SCA...WILL REMAIN UP FOR THOSE AREAS. THE TRADE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...BUT A NEW NORTHWEST SWELL WILL LIKELY REQUIRE THE SCA TO BE EXPANDED TONIGHT. && .AVIATION... AN AIRMET IS UP FOR LOW LEVEL TURBULENCE OVER AND DOWNWIND OF THE ISLANDS AND IS EXPECTED TO STAY UP FOR AT LEAST 24 HOURS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING TILL 6 PM HST THIS EVENING FOR KAUAI LEEWARD-OAHU SOUTH SHORE-WAIANAE COAST-OAHU NORTH SHORE-OLOMANA-CENTRAL OAHU-WAIANAE MOUNTAINS-MOLOKAI LEEWARD-MAUI LEEWARD WEST-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY-LEEWARD HALEAKALA-KONA-SOUTH BIG ISLAND. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL NOON MONDAY FOR THE SUMMITS OF HALEAKALA ON MAUI AND MAUNA LOA AND MAUNA KEA ON THE BIG ISLAND. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 600 PM MONDAY FOR THE WINDY AREAS AROUND MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND. && DONALDSON
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 Florida, January 29, 2012
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, January 29 to 30, 2012
- High Wind in Montana, January 29, 2012
- Heavy Snow in Montana, January 29 to 30, 2012
- Flooding in Idaho, January 29 to 30, 2012
- High Wind in Montana, January 29, 2012
- High Wind in Wyoming, January 29, 2012
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 29 to 30, 2012
- Flood in Washington, January 29 to 30, 2012
- Winter Storm in Alaska, January 29 to 30, 2012
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, January 29 to 30, 2012
- Heavy Snow in Washington, January 29 to 30, 2012
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 2012
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: 357460.