Wildfire, Maui Leeward West
- When
- April 5, 10:30 AM HST to 2:00 PM HST
- Where
- Maui Leeward West forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, April 5, 2013
A fire scorched 3000 acres of brush above Napili in West Maui. Firefighters found mostly ironwood needles and scrub grass ablaze.
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 3000 acres of brush above Napili in West Maui. Firefighters found mostly ironwood needles and scrub grass ablaze. There were no reports of serious property damage or 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 Apr 5, 10:00 AM HST, 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 5, 10:00 AM HST, 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST FRI APR 5 2013 .SYNOPSIS... A RATHER DRY TRADE WINDS WEATHER PATTERN CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS WITH JUST A FEW SHOWERS OVER WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS. WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHT EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH LAND AND SEA BREEZES EXPECTED OVER MANY AREAS. RAINFALL WILL REMAIN RATHER SPARSE WITH INTERIOR AND MAUKA AREAS HAVING THE GREATEST CHANCES OF RAINFALL MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. && .DISCUSSION... MOST OF THE STATE IS RATHER DRY AT THE PRESENT TIME WITH JUST A FEW SHOWERS SEEN ON RADAR IMAGERY OVER THE WINDWARD BIG ISLAND SLOPES AND OVER THE COASTAL WATERS EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND. EXPECT THIS RATHER DRY WEATHER TREND TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY TODAY. THE SUN WILL BE DIMMED A BIT TODAY AS SOME HIGH CIRRUS CLOUDS STREAM ON BY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL RESIDE FAR TO THE NORTHEAST OF THE STATE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THIS WILL KEEP THE ISLANDS IN BASICALLY A MODERATE TRADE WIND ENVIRONMENT WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS EXPECTED OVER MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND WITH LIGHTER TRADE WINDS OVER KAUAI. UPPER LEVEL RIDGING AND A RATHER DRY AIRMASS WILL KEEP SHOWER ACTIVITY TO A MINIMUM WITH THE HIGHEST PROBABILITIES BEING OVER WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS. MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT DEPICTING A FRONTAL SYSTEM GRADUALLY APPROACHING THE STATE FROM THE NORTHWEST EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL NUDGE A SURFACE RIDGE DOWN CLOSER TO THE STATE WITH WINDS BECOMING LIGHTER ESPECIALLY OVER THE WEST END OF THE STATE. BACKGROUND WIND FLOW MAY BECOME SOUTHEASTERLY OVER KAUAI AND OAHU BUT UNDER A LIGHT WIND REGIME LAND AND SEA BREEZES WILL LIKELY PREVAIL OVER MOST AREAS. MOISTURE IS EXPECTED TO BE RATHER LIMITED AROUND THE STATE NEXT WEEK. THE RAINFALL PATTERN WILL LIKELY TAKE ON MORE OF AN AFTERNOON CONVECTIVE THEME WITH THE GREATEST CHANCES OF SHOWERS BEING OVER INTERIOR AND MAUKA AREAS. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS MOST OF THE STATE. BRIEF MVFR CEILINGS ARE EXPECTED IN SHOWERS ACROSS WINDWARD SECTIONS...WITH MVFR VISIBILITIES ALSO POSSIBLE ACROSS WINDWARD BIG ISLAND. && .MARINE... BUOY 51101 SHOWS SEAS RUNNING BETWEEN 11 AND 13 FEET WITH PERIODS OF 15 TO 16 SECONDS WHILE THE WAIMEA BAY BUOY IS RUNNING BETWEEN 10 AND 11 FEET WITH A PERIOD OF AROUND 17 SECONDS. WARNING/ADVISORY LEVEL SURF WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT FOR MOST NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES. ANOTHER RATHER LARGE...THOUGH SLIGHTLY SMALLER...WEST NORTHWEST SWELL IS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE ON SUNDAY...PEAK ON MONDAY...THEN LOWER SLOWLY INTO MID WEEK. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS UP FOR MOST COASTAL WATERS MAINLY DUE THE COMBINED SEAS OF 10 FEET OR HIGHER. WINDS MAY REACH 25 KT OVER THE USUAL WINDY WATERS AROUND MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF WARNING UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY FOR NIIHAU-KAUAI WINDWARD-KAUAI LEEWARD-WAIANAE COAST-OAHU NORTH SHORE-OAHU KOOLAU-MOLOKAI-MAUI WINDWARD WEST-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY-WINDWARD HALEAKALA. HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY FOR MAUI LEEWARD WEST- BIG ISLAND NORTH AND EAST. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY FOR ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS EXCEPT MAALAEA BAY. && SYNOPSIS/DISCUSSION/MARINE...BURKE AVIATION...BRAVENDER
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
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, April 2013
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: 438835.