Wildfire, Waianae Coast
- When
- August 17, 4:55 PM HST to August 18, 6:00 AM 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, August 17 to 18, 2013
A fire blackened about 100 acres of dry brush near Keaau Beach Park in Waianae in leeward Oahu. The blaze destroyed an abandoned structure, though there was no cost of damages available.
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 blackened about 100 acres of dry brush near Keaau Beach Park in Waianae in leeward Oahu. The blaze destroyed an abandoned structure, though there was no cost of damages available. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was not indicated.
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 Aug 17, 3:30 PM HST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 17, 3:30 PM HST, 1 hour 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 330 PM HST SAT AUG 17 2013 .SYNOPSIS... A TRADE WIND WEATHER REGIME WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. SHOWERS WILL KEEP FAVORING WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS. TRADE WIND SPEEDS WILL DIMINISH A LITTLE TROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...BUT REMAINING GUSTY AT TIMES. A MODEST INCREASE IN SHOWERS IS POSSIBLE BY MID WEEK AS AN AREA OF ENHANCED MOISTURE APPROACHES THE ISLAND CHAIN FROM THE SOUTHEAST. && .DISCUSSION... STRONG SFC HIGH PRESSURE FAR N OF THE ALOHA STATE WILL KEEP A TRADE WIND WEATHER REGIME ACROSS THE AREA TROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. THE TRADE SPEEDS WILL DIMINISHING A LITTLE ON SUN AND THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK AS A MID LEVEL TROUGH DEVELOPS OVER THE N CPAC AND DISRUPTS THE CIRCULATION OF THE HIGH. HOWEVER...EXPECT GUSTY PERIODS TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. A COMBINATION OF TRADES AROUND 20 MPH AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES IS BRINGING RED FLAG WARNING CONDITIONS ACROSS MAINLY LEEWARD AREAS...FOR WHICH A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS N EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM HST THIS EVENING. AN AREA OF ENHANCED MOISTURE SW OF THE ISLAND CHAIN...ASSOCIATED WITH LOW PRESSURE OVER THE TROPICS...WILL KEEP MIGRATING W ALONG WITH THE TRADE FLOW WITH NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS OVER THE ISLANDS. MEANWHILE...LATEST MIMIC/PWAT ANALYSES SHOW A STRIP OF PWATS BELOW 1 INCH FILTERING INTO THE AREA FROM THE E. WITH RIDGING PREVAILING ALOFT...THE SYNOPTIC SETUP WILL ENSURE THAT THE AIRMASS OVER THE ISLANDS REMAINS RELATIVELY STABLE AT LEAST THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. EXPECT ANY SHOWERS THAT FORM TO PRODUCE LIMITED RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS...WITH BETTER CHANCES OVER WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS AT NIGHT. LATEST LIHUE AND HILO SOUNDING DATA SHOW INVERSIONS OF 5K AND 6K FEET RESPECTIVELY. THUS...SOME OF THE LARGER SHOWERS MAY BRIEFLY REACH LEEWARD LOCATIONS OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS AT TIMES....ESPECIALLY IN THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. LATEST MODEL GUIDANCE SHOW AN AREA OF ENHANCED MOISTURE APPROACHING THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK...LIKELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PASSAGE OF A TROPICAL DISTURBANCE S OF THE ISLANDS. ALTHOUGH IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE WHAT KIND OF WEATHER IMPACTS THIS FEATURE MAY BRING TO THE ISLANDS...A CHANCE OF HAVING WETTER TRADES IS POSSIBLE ON WED AND MAYBE THU. OTHERWISE...THE FORECAST SHOULD TREND TOWARD CLIMATOLOGY...ESPECIALLY LATER NEXT WEEK AS THE RIDGE ALOFT INTENSIFIES. && .AVIATION... STRONG GUSTY TRADES PERSIST ENE G30KT PRODUCING SIGNIFICANT LEE MT TURB. AIRMET TANGO WILL REMAIN POSTED. ELSEWHERE VFR PREVAILS ACRS THE FA. && .MARINE... THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THE WINDIER WATERS AROUND MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 6 AM SUN AS TRADES STILL REMAIN STRONG OVER THOSE MARINE ZONES. THE WIND SPEEDS SHOULD THEN BEGIN SUBSIDING SUN LATER IN THE MORNING. NO SIGNIFICANT SWELLS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. SEE THE SURF FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR DETAILS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST SUNDAY FOR MAALAEA BAY- PAILOLO CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND LEEWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND SOUTHEAST WATERS. RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 6 PM HST THIS EVENING FOR NIIHAU-KAUAI LEEWARD-OAHU SOUTH SHORE-WAIANAE COAST-OAHU NORTH SHORE-OLOMANA- CENTRAL OAHU-WAIANAE MOUNTAINS-MOLOKAI LEEWARD-LANAI-MAUI LEEWARD WEST-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY-LEEWARD HALEAKALA-KONA-SOUTH BIG ISLAND-KOHALA. && DISCUSSION/MARINE...REYNES AVIATION...DEJESUS
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
- Wildfire in California, August 17 to 31, 2013
- Damaging Wind in Arizona, August 17, 2013
- Damaging Wind in Arizona, August 17, 2013
- Flood and Damaging Winds in Florida, August 17, 2013
- Hail in Kansas, August 17, 2013
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in Utah, August 17 to 21, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, August 17, 2013
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Florida, August 17, 2013
- High Wind in Montana, August 17 to 18, 2013
- Heavy Rain in North Carolina, August 17, 2013
- Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in Arizona, August 17, 2013
- Flash Flooding in North Carolina, August 17 to 18, 2013
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, August 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: 468562.