Wildfire, Kona
- When
- July 4, 3:30 PM HST to July 5, 6:00 PM HST
- Where
- Kona forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, July 4 to 5, 2012
A fire scorched 430 acres of dry brush just north of Hina Lani Street in Kailua-Kona on the lee side of the Big Island of Hawaii. No significant injuries or property damage were reported.
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 scorched 430 acres of dry brush just north of Hina Lani Street in Kailua-Kona on the lee side of the Big Island of Hawaii. No significant injuries or property damage were reported. The cause of the blaze was under investigation. The cost of any damages was not available. The fire was listed as contained and under control by the later afternoon July 5.
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, 10:00 AM HST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 10:00 AM HST, 5 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST WED JUL 4 2012 .SYNOPSIS... TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...STRENGTHENING FOR THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. AFTER SLIGHTLY DRIER CONDITIONS TODAY... CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL RETURN TO NEAR NORMAL VALUES FOR THE WEEK. RAINFALL WILL FOCUS ACROSS WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS...WITH THE BREEZY TRADES BLOWING SOME SHOWERS ACROSS LEEWARD SECTIONS AS WELL. && .DISCUSSION... WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH JUST WEST OF THE STATE. THIS HIGH IS SLOWLY MOVING TO THE WEST...WITH AN UPPER RIDGE NEARLY STATIONARY OVER THE ISLANDS. AT THE SURFACE...HIGH PRESSURE IS LOCATED FAR NORTH NORTHEAST OF THE STATE...AND IS ALSO NEARLY STATIONARY. 12Z RAOBS FROM HILO AND LIHUE SHOW INVERSIONS NEAR 8KFT...WITH PRECIPITABLE WATERS OF 1.2-1.3 INCHES. EARLY MORNING MIMIC TOTAL PRECIPITABLE WATER IMAGERY SHOWS DRIER AIR MOVING WESTWARD ACROSS THE SMALLER ISLANDS...WITH HIGHER VALUES UPSTREAM OF THE BIG ISLAND. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS AN AREA OF SHOWERY CLOUDS ABOUT 150 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE STATE...WITH A CLOSER AREA OF STABLE CLOUDS EXTENDING UPSTREAM FROM MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND. THIS STABLE AREA MAY THIN OUT SOMEWHAT DURING THE DAY...BUT STILL ENHANCE WINDWARD CLOUDS ACROSS OAHU AND KAUAI THIS AFTERNOON AS IT MOVES WESTWARD. FORECAST SOUNDINGS/CROSS SECTIONS SHOW A SLIGHT INCREASE IN MOISTURE DEPTH TONIGHT/THURSDAY AS THE NEXT SHOWERY BAND OF CLOUDS REACHES THE ISLANDS. RAINFALL WILL BE FOCUSED ACROSS WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS. WIND SPEEDS WILL ALSO BE STRONGER ON THURSDAY...WHICH WILL SPREAD MORE SHOWERS ACROSS LEEWARD SECTIONS AS WELL. 12Z GFS/ECMWF SHOW THE SURFACE HIGH NORTHEAST OF THE STATE WILL EDGE SOUTHWARD...STRENGTHENING THE PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE ISLANDS. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE FROM THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE HIGH WILL START TO WEAKEN OVER THE WEEKEND...EVENTUALLY SHIFTING EAST EARLY NEXT WEEK AS A FRONT PUSHES IN FROM THE NORTH. THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE SIMILAR WITH THE OVERALL TIMING AND EVOLUTION WITH THE FRONT...ALTHOUGH BOTH ARE ABOUT 12 HOURS FASTER THAN THE 12Z NOGAPS. THE FRONT STALLS AND DISSIPATES NORTH OF THE STATE... LEAVING A MORE MODERATE TRADE WIND FLOW ACROSS THE ISLANDS FOR THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK. WITH A FAIR AMOUNT OF MOISTURE EMBEDDED WITHIN THE TRADE WIND FLOW...RAINFALL CHANCES ARE EXPECTED TO BE NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE REST OF THIS WEEK. BY SATURDAY THE MOISTURE DEPTH DECREASES SLIGHTLY...BUT LOW-LEVELS REMAIN MOIST. TYPICAL TRADE WIND SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...ALTHOUGH RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL LIKELY DECREASE BEGINNING SATURDAY. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL TODAY...WITH ISOL MVFR CIGS CONFINED TO WINDWARD SLOPES. THE HIGHER AMOUNT OF LOW CLOUD COVER CURRENTLY FOUND OVER THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI COUNTY WILL SPREAD WEST TO OAHU AND KAUAI OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. RIDGING ALOFT WILL CREATE STABLE CONDITIONS CAPPING LOW CLOUDS AROUND 8000 FT. UNDER THE STABLE ATMOSPHERE AND WITH LOW LEVEL WINDS HOVERING IN THE 20 TO 25 KT RANGE...CONDITIONS ARE BORDERLINE FOR LOW LEVEL TURB. FOR NOW NO AIRMETS ARE IN EFFECT...BUT WE WILL KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON PIREPS AND WIND OBS. LOOK FOR AN INCREASE IN MAINLY WINDWARD SHRA AND FREQUENCY OF MVFR CIGS AND VIS TONIGHT AS THE CLOUD FIELD CURRENTLY 150 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE BIG ISLAND CONTAINS MORE OPEN CELLED... SHOWER-BEARING CUMULUS CLOUDS. && .MARINE... A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE TYPICALLY WINDIER CHANNELS. AS THE GRADIENT INCREASES FROM THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND...THE SMALL CRAFT WILL LIKELY NEED TO BE EXPANDED INTO ADDITIONAL ZONES /AS WELL AS EXTENDED IN TIME/. THE INCOMING SOUTH-SOUTHWEST SWELL HAS CONTINUED TO BUILD AT THE LANAI AND BARBERS POINT BUOYS THIS MORNING. SPECTRAL DATA FROM BUOY 51003 SOUTHWEST OF THE STATE NOW COMPARES TO A MARGINAL HIGH SURF EVENT...AND WE HAVE RECEIVED A COUPLE REPORTS OF SURF NEAR 8 FEET. WITH THE SWELL EXPECTED TO PEAK TONIGHT...WE HAVE ISSUED A HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR SOUTH FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS FOR TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY. BEGINNING THURSDAY THIS SWELL WILL GRADUALLY LOWER THROUGH THE WEEKEND. ELSEWHERE...EASTERLY WIND SWELL WILL PICK UP FROM THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS THE TRADES INCREASE. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST THURSDAY FOR SOUTH FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 9 AM HST FRIDAY FOR MAALAEA BAY- PAILOLO CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND LEEWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND SOUTHEAST WATERS. && DISCUSSION/MARINE...BRAVENDER AVIATION...WROE
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
- Excessive Heat in Illinois, July 4 to 7, 2012
- Excessive Heat and Heat in Pennsylvania, July 4 to 7, 2012
- Excessive Heat in Missouri, July 4 to 7, 2012
- Heat in Maryland, July 4 to 8, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 4 to 5, 2012
- Heat in Nevada, July 4, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 4 to 5, 2012
- Excessive Heat in Iowa, July 4 to 7, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Vermont, July 4, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, July 4 to 7, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, July 4, 2012
- Heavy Rain in Arizona, July 4, 2012
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, July 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: 388685.