Wildfire, Central Oahu
- When
- September 4, 2:00 PM HST to 7:00 PM HST
- Where
- Central Oahu forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, September 4, 2013
A fire blackened 50 acres of fallow agricultural land near Whitmore Village in central Oahu. The dry brush fire came close to a section of Kamehameha Highway, which was closed for more than hour in the afternoon while fire crews worked to contain the blaze.
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 50 acres of fallow agricultural land near Whitmore Village in central Oahu. The dry brush fire came close to a section of Kamehameha Highway, which was closed for more than hour in the afternoon while fire crews worked to contain the blaze. The cause of the fire was unknown. There were no serious injuries or property damage.
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 Sep 4, 8:34 AM HST, 5 hours 26 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 4, 8:34 AM HST, 5 hours 26 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 834 AM HST WED SEP 4 2013 .SYNOPSIS... LIGHT TRADES WINDS WILL ALLOW FOR AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY...POSSIBLY INTO SATURDAY. SHOWERS WILL FAVOR LEEWARD AREAS EACH AFTERNOON. TRADES WILL GRADUALLY RETURN OVER THE WEEKEND ALONG WITH INCREASING WINDWARD RAINFALL CHANCES. A MORE TYPICAL MODERATE TRADE PATTERN IS EXPECTED NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... LIGHT SHOWERS ARE MOVING W ACROSS THE STATE AND COASTAL WATERS THIS MORNING IN THE DIMINISHED TRADE FLOW. PASSING LIGHT RAIN IS LIKELY FOR MOST WINDWARD ZONES THIS MORNING ESPECIALLY MAUI COUNTY. EMBEDDED MODERATE SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE DUE TO INCREASED POCKETS OF LLVL MOISTURE AND A WEAK 700 MB WAVE CROSSING THE AREA. SHOWERS WILL BACK OFF BY MID/LATE MORNING AND SHIFT TOWARDS LEEWARD/INTERIOR SECTIONS THIS AFTERNOON AS VARIABLE SEA BREEZES DEVELOP. MADE A FEW MINOR TWEAKS TO THE MORNING GRIDS TO ACCOUNT FOR VIS/RADAR TRENDS. THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE TO THE N WILL REMAIN DISRUPTED BY A MOD AMPLITUDE TROUGH OVER LATITUDES N-NNW OF HAWAII. WEAK GRADIENTS SUGGEST NOMINAL LLVL EASTERLY FLOW COUPLED WITH PERIODS OF SEA/LAND BREEZES IN A HYBRID REGIME. ISOLATED SHOWERS WILL FAVOR WINDWARD AREAS OVERNIGHT AND LEEWARD ZONES IN THE AFTERNOONS TODAY-SAT. TOTAL PW/VIS/IR IMAGERY ALL DEPICT A POCKET OF TROPICAL MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK LOW LEVEL FEATURE NEAR 18N142W OR ABOUT 650 NM E OF HILO. GUIDANCE SUGGEST A SUBTLE LIFT N IN THE POLAR JET OVER THE WEEKEND ALLOWING HEIGHTS/PRESSURES TO RECOVER THROUGH THE SUBTROPICS SIGNALING MORE PRONOUNCED TRADE FLOW LOCALLY. PERIODS OF SEA/LAND BREEZES ARE STILL POSSIBLE DUE TO THE VEERED FLOW PATTERN. THIS SHOULD BRING THE AFOREMENTIONED MOISTURE AXIS ACROSS THE AREA THIS WEEKEND LEADING TO HIGHER NON-CONVECTIVE RAIN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY FOR WINDWARD LOCATIONS SAT-SUN. GFS/ECMWF SOLUTIONS BOTH INDICATE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BECOME DOMINANT THROUGH THE SUBTROPICS AGAIN NEXT WEEK. TRADES WILL RESPOND BY INCREASING AGAIN EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH RAINFALL REMAIN CONFINED TO WINDWARD ZONES UNDER STABLE CONDITIONS. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS PREVAIL AT ALL TAF SITES AND THESE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY. THERE WILL LIKELY BE SOME LOCAL MVFR OVER WINDWARD SLOPES DUE TO LOW CLOUDS AND -SHRA. && .MARINE... LIGHT WINDS AND MINIMAL SEAS SHOULD PRECLUDE ANY SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES THROUGH AT LEAST SUN. A MODEST NW SWELL WILL PRODUCE SMALL SURF ALONG N FACING BEACHES THU-SAT. SURF ALONG S FACING BEACHES WILL STILL MINIMAL WITH SOME LOCATIONS PULLING IN 2-3 FT SURF OVER THE WEEKEND. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && PUBLIC/MARINE...DEJESUS AVIATION...BURKE PREVIOUS...HUI
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
- Hail in South Dakota, September 4, 2013
- Hail in Nebraska, September 4, 2013
- Debris Flow and Heavy Rain in Colorado, September 4, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wyoming, September 4, 2013
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Gulf of Mexico, September 4 to 5, 2013
- Waterspout in Gulf of Mexico, September 4, 2013
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Gulf of Mexico, September 4, 2013
- Damaging Wind in Texas, September 4, 2013
- Flash Flood in Nevada, September 4, 2013
- Flash Flood in Nevada, September 4, 2013
- Flash Flood in Nevada, September 4, 2013
- Damaging Wind in Washington, September 4, 2013
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, September 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: 472801.