Wildfire, Waianae Coast
- When
- June 4, 1:05 PM HST to June 8, 8:00 PM HST
- Where
- Waianae Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, June 4 to 8, 2012
A fire burned around 1200 acres of dry brush in Waianae and Lualualei valleys in leeward Oahu. The blaze also destroyed a hale used as a classroom at Kaala Farms Cultural Center and a few orchid hothouses on Haleahi Road.
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 burned around 1200 acres of dry brush in Waianae and Lualualei valleys in leeward Oahu. The blaze also destroyed a hale used as a classroom at Kaala Farms Cultural Center and a few orchid hothouses on Haleahi Road. Up to a dozen residents had to evacuate their homes for a time due to heavy smoke in the area. The fire started near Radford Street and Kolekole Road at Lualualei Naval Magazine, though the cause of the fire was under investigation. There were no significant injuries. The cost of damages was not available.
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 Jun 4, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 4, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST MON JUN 4 2012 .SYNOPSIS... GUSTY TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES IN NORTHEAST OF THE AREA. ENHANCED TRADE SHOWERS WILL AFFECT MAINLY THE EASTERN END OF THE STATE INTO TUESDAY. && .DISCUSSION... WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS AN UPPER LOW NEAR 19N153W...OR ABOUT 150 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF HILO. THIS LOW IS MOVING TO THE WEST SOUTHWEST AT 10 MPH. AT THE SURFACE...HIGH PRESSURE IS LOCATED FAR NORTH NORTHEAST OF THE STATE...WITH A WEAKENING FRONT TO THE FAR NORTHEAST. 12Z SOUNDINGS FROM HILO AND LIHUE SHOW INVERSIONS NEAR 7KFT...WITH PRECIPITABLE WATERS RANGING FROM 1.1 INCHES AT LIHUE TO 1.3 INCHES AT HILO. AMSU/SSMI TOTAL PRECIPITABLE WATER IMAGERY FROM THIS MORNING SHOWS A BAND OF HIGHER MOISTURE JUST EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND...WITH PW VALUES NEAR 1.5 INCHES. 12Z MODELS ARE IN BETTER AGREEMENT WITH THE EVOLUTION OF THE UPPER LOW EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND...SHOWING IT WEAKENING AS IT TURNS WEST AND NORTHWEST ACROSS THE BIG ISLAND. THE GFS INITIALIZED 500MB TEMPERATURES ABOUT 2C COLDER THAN THE ECMWF IN THE COLD POOL ASSOCIATED WITH UPPER LOW. BASED ON THE PERSISTENT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ACROSS THE EASTERN OFFSHORE WATERS...AM INCLINED TO LEAN TOWARD THE MORE UNSTABLE GFS SOLUTION. HOWEVER... THE GFS KEEPS THE COLD POOL EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND WHILE TAKING THE LOW TO THE WEST. THE STEEPEST MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES ACTUALLY AFFECT THE BIG ISLAND ON TUESDAY. THIS LINES UP WITH TIMING OF CONVECTION ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE LOW. ADDITIONAL CONVECTION HAS BEEN LESS PERSISTENT WITHIN THE CORE OF THE LOW...BUT MAY AFFECT THE AREA EARLIER. HAVE UPDATED THE FORECAST TO ADD A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE BIG ISLAND FOR THIS AFTERNOON/TONIGHT...AND ALSO HAVE A LINGERING SLIGHT CHANCE ACROSS INTERIOR BIG ISLAND TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS WELL. THE MID-LEVEL GRADIENT HAS ALSO TIGHTENED ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN. THE 12Z LIHUE SOUNDING SHOWED 45 KNOTS OF WIND JUST OVER 700MB...AND WINDS ACROSS BOTH MAUI AND BIG ISLAND SUMMITS INCREASED OVERNIGHT. WINDS ON MAUI HAVE SHOWN A DOWNWARD TREND DURING THE MORNING...BUT REMAINS NEAR/ABOVE THE ADVISORY LEVEL OF 30 MPH. THE HIGH WIND WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH THE DAY...MAY NEED TO BE DOWNGRADED TO AN ADVISORY. ADVISORY-LEVEL WINDS LOOK TO CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. CONDITIONS BEGIN TO STABILIZE BEHIND THE UPPER LOW...BUT RAINFALL CHANCES REMAIN ELEVATED GIVEN AVAILABLE MOISTURE EMBEDDED IN THE TRADE WIND FLOW. THE SURFACE HIGH NORTH OF THE STATE WILL BECOME NEARLY STATIONARY FAR TO THE NORTHEAST BY TUESDAY...AND REMAIN IN THAT AREA THROUGH THE WORK WEEK. WINDS ACROSS THE STATE ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BREEZY AND GUSTY THROUGH THE WEEK. THE MAIN DIFFERENCE WILL BE THAT THE DIRECTION WILL VEER TO MORE OF A DUE EASTERLY DIRECTION BY THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL AT THE TERMINALS WITH BRIEF MVFR CIG/VIS POSSIBLE OVER WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS. AIRMET TANGO WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR LOW LEVEL TURB S THROUGH W OF MTNS...DUE TO THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE LOCALLY STRONG TRADE WINDS AND ISLAND TERRAIN. A LOW ALOFT EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND HAS INCREASED NE WINDS ABOVE THE SUMMITS OF MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND. && .MARINE... LITTLE CHANGE IS EXPECTED IN THE STRENGTH OF THE TRADE WINDS FOR MOST OF THE WEEK. SURFACE PRESSURES ACROSS THE AREA HAVE DROPPED OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS...BUT THE GRADIENT BETWEEN BUOY 51000 NORTHEAST OF THE STATE AND BUOY 51002 SOUTH OF THE STATE HAS REMAINED SOMEWHAT STEADY. THE CURRENT SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE CHANNELS AND TYPICALLY WINDIER WATERS SUCH AS MAALAEA BAY AND NEAR SOUTH POINT THROUGH TONIGHT...AND SOME ZONES WILL NEED TO BE EXTENDED THROUGH LATER IN THE WEEK. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST THIS EVENING FOR BIG ISLAND SUMMITS. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM HST THIS EVENING FOR HALEAKALA SUMMIT. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST TUESDAY FOR KAUAI CHANNEL- KAIWI CHANNEL-MAALAEA BAY-PAILOLO CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND WINDWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND LEEWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND SOUTHEAST WATERS. && PUBLIC/MARINE...BRAVENDER AVIATION...MORRISON
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
- Tornado and Hail in Missouri, June 4, 2012
- Wildfire in New Mexico, June 4 to 22, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, June 4, 2012
- Rip Current in North Carolina, June 4, 2012
- Coastal Flood in Massachusetts, June 4 to 5, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, June 4, 2012
- Dust Storm and High Wind in California, June 4 to 5, 2012
- Damaging Winds in Wyoming, June 4, 2012
- Tornado and Hail in Arkansas, June 4, 2012
- High Wind in Nevada, June 4, 2012
- Hail in Illinois, June 4, 2012
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, June 4 to 5, 2012
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, June 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: 380486.