Wildfire, Kona
- When
- January 12, 6:00 PM HST to January 15, 8:00 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, January 12 to 15, 2014
A fire burned 150 acres of brush in the Puu Waawaa forest reserve in the North Kona District on the lee side of the Big Island of Hawaii. Investigators believe the blaze was started by lightning.
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 150 acres of brush in the Puu Waawaa forest reserve in the North Kona District on the lee side of the Big Island of Hawaii. Investigators believe the blaze was started by lightning. There were no serious injuries reported. The cost of any 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 Jan 12, 3:30 PM HST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 12, 3:30 PM HST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 330 PM HST SUN JAN 12 2014 .SYNOPSIS... AN UPPER TROUGH NEAR THE BIG ISLAND IS MOVING AWAY...BUT WILL KEEP THE ATMOSPHERE UNSTABLE ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN A THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR KAUAI AND THE BIG ISLAND. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME MORE STABLE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS THE TROUGH WEAKENS AND MOVES OFF TO THE EAST. A RIDGE ALOFT IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE MUCH DRIER WEATHER THROUGH THE REST OF THIS WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... SATELLITE LOOP SHOWS A STRONG UPPER TROUGH ACROSS BIG ISLAND WINDWARD WATERS DRIFTING SLOWLY EASTWARD AWAY FROM THE STATE. HOWEVER...SOUNDINGS CONTINUE TO SHOW AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE AREA...WITH NEGATIVE LIFTED INDEX VALUES AND CAPE BETWEEN 1000 AND 1550 J/KG. RADAR AND SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW ISOLATED HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS NEAR THE ISLANDS...ESPECIALLY AROUND THE BIG ISLAND AND KAUAI. OVERALL ACTIVITY DECREASED THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY BUT HAS INCREASED ONCE AGAIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON...MOST NOTABLY SOUTH OF KAUAI...SOUTHEAST OF THE BIG ISLAND AND WITHIN THE BIG ISLAND SADDLE. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TO DIMINISH AFTER THIS EVENING AS THE UPPER TROUGH CONTINUES TO MOVE AWAY. MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT SHOWING THE TROUGH ALOFT WEAKENING AND MOVING OFF TO THE NORTHEAST OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND RIDGING ALOFT SPREADING OVER THE AREA FROM THE WEST. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL DRY OUT AND STABILIZE. BY TUESDAY NIGHT THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE DRY AND STABLE ENOUGH SO THAT ONLY LIGHT RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED FROM TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE END OF THE COMING WEEK. MEANWHILE...A SERIES OF FRONTS WILL APPROACH THE ISLANDS FROM THE NORTHWEST THROUGH THE COMING WEEK KEEPING THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE WEAK AND CLOSE TO THE ISLANDS. WITH THE RIDGE CLOSE TO THE ISLANDS...WINDS WILL REMAIN GENTLE THROUGH NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A DEPARTING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL BE PRESENT THROUGH THE EVENING. WHILE VFR COND SHOULD PREVAIL ACROSS OAHU AND MAUI COUNTY...TEMPO MVFR CIGS VIS AND MTN OBSC WILL OCCUR OVER KAUAI AND THE BIG ISLAND AT LEAST THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS...THEN CLEARING LATE. AIRMET SIERRA FOR MTN OBSC HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR KAUAI AND BIG ISLAND. && .MARINE... A MODERATE NORTHWEST SWELL ARRIVING MONDAY WILL PRODUCE SURF BELOW THE ADVISORY THRESHOLD THROUGH TUESDAY. A LARGER NORTHWEST SWELL ARRIVING TUESDAY NIGHT WILL PRODUCE SURF NEAR THE ADVISORY LEVEL WEDNESDAY. A VERY LARGE NORTHWEST SWELL ARRIVING WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL LIKELY PRODUCE WARNING LEVEL SURF THROUGH FRIDAY. LIGHT TO MODERATE WINDS...WELL BELOW THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY THRESHOLD...ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE COMING WEEK. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && PUBLIC/MARINE...POWELL AVIATION...FOSTER
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 Kansas, January 12, 2014
- Flooding in Ohio, January 12 to 14, 2014
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, January 12 to 13, 2014
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Colorado, January 12 to 14, 2014
- Winter Weather in Colorado, January 12, 2014
- High Wind in Texas, January 12, 2014
- High Wind in New Mexico, January 12, 2014
- High Wind in New Mexico, January 12, 2014
- High Wind in Nebraska, January 12, 2014
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 2014
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: 489035.