Wildfire, Kona
- When
- July 4, 12:15 PM HST to July 10, 2:00 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, July 4 to 10, 2015
A fire charred almost 200 acres of brush in North Kona in a leeward section of the Big Island of Hawaii. Some residents of Wainani Estates and Kona Acres, very close to the burn area, helped battle the blaze near their homes with garden hoses.
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 charred almost 200 acres of brush in North Kona in a leeward section of the Big Island of Hawaii. Some residents of Wainani Estates and Kona Acres, very close to the burn area, helped battle the blaze near their homes with garden hoses. Although fire officials warned that an evacuation of the area may be needed; no order was actually given, though some individuals left their homes voluntarily.
No significant injuries or property damage were reported. The cause of the blaze was not known.
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 Jul 4, 9:30 AM HST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 9:30 AM HST, 2 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 930 AM HST SAT JUL 4 2015 .SYNOPSIS... WINDS WILL BE LIGHT TODAY BUT TRADE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY STRENGTHEN DURING THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. A FEW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TODAY MAINLY OVER INTERIOR AREAS WITH A MORE TYPICAL WINDWARD AND MAUKA SHOWER PATTERN EXPECTED NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... LIGHT TRADE WINDS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT WITH DAYTIME SEA BREEZES AND NIGHTTIME LAND BREEZES EXPECTED. TRADE WINDS WILL SLOWLY INCREASE DURING THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE GRADUALLY BUILDS IN NORTH OF THE AREA. RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS AN AREA OF SHOWERS JUST TO THE SOUTH AND WEST OF NIIHAU. THESE SHOWERS ARE MOVING OFF TOWARD THE NORTHWEST AND ARE NOT EXPECTED TO IMPACT OUR AREA. A FEW SHOWERS ARE ALSO SEEN OVER EAST AND SOUTHEAST SECTIONS OF THE BIG ISLAND BUT THESE ARE GENERALLY LIGHT. DAYTIME HEATING WILL CAUSE FOR SOME CLOUD BUILDUPS THIS AFTERNOON OVER INTERIOR AREAS WITH A FEW SHOWERS EXPECTED FROM THEM. OTHERWISE GENERALLY DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED. WITH THE EXPECTED GRADUAL INCREASE IN TRADE WINDS EARLY NEXT WEEK...CLOUDS AND PASSING SHOWERS WILL TEND TO FAVOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS. MODERATE TRADE WINDS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE MIDDLE AND LATER HALF OF NEXT WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE STRENGTHENS NORTH OF THE STATE. CLOUDS AND PASSING SHOWERS WILL FAVOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS WITH THE TRADE WINDS SUFFICIENTLY STRONG ENOUGH TO BLOW A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS OVER THE SELECT LEEWARD AREAS AT TIMES. THE CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER IN HONOLULU AND THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IN MIAMI ARE MONITORING A COUPLE OF AREAS OF DISTURBED WEATHER OVER THE EAST PACIFIC. THESE AREAS WILL CONTINUE TO BE CLOSELY MONITORED FOR ANY SIGNS OF DEVELOPMENT. && .AVIATION... TRADE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN ACROSS THE AREA TODAY AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS NORTH OF THE STATE. A SHORT PERIOD OF SEA BREEZE WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS MORNING AT SEVERAL TAF SITES BEFORE THE TRADES KICK IN THIS AFTERNOON. COULD SEE A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON...BUT PREDOMINANTLY VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT THE TERMINALS. THE ONE EXCEPTION IS PHNY WHERE MVFR CIGS ARE EXPECTED FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. && .MARINE... TRADE WINDS WILL BEGIN TO SLOWLY INCREASE TODAY...AND GRADUALLY STRENGTHEN TO MODERATE LEVELS BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK...AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN NORTH OF THE STATE. HOWEVER WINDS AND SEAS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY LEVELS THROUGH WEDNESDAY...THOU SEAS WILL BUILD TOWARD THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD DUE TO THE STRONGER TRADE WINDS. THE NEW SOUTH SWELL IS A BIT BIGGER THAN MODEL GUIDANCE. A HIGH SURF ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED AS SURF HEIGHTS ARE EXPECTED TO EXCEED ADVISORY LEVELS OVER THE WEEKEND. THIS SWELL WILL LOWER GRADUALLY MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. A SERIES OF SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZE SOUTH SWELLS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. A SMALL NORTHWEST SWELL IS EXPECTED TO LINGER OVER THE WEEKEND AND ON INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. STRENGTHENING TRADE WINDS WILL CAUSE SHORT PERIOD CHOPPY SURF TO INCREASE NEXT WEEK. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST SUNDAY FOR NIIHAU-KAUAI WINDWARD-KAUAI LEEWARD-OAHU SOUTH SHORE-WAIANAE COAST-MOLOKAI- LANAI MAKAI-KAHOOLAWE-MAUI LEEWARD WEST-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY- WINDWARD HALEAKALA-LEEWARD HALEAKALA-KONA-SOUTH BIG ISLAND-BIG ISLAND NORTH AND EAST-KOHALA. && SYNOPSIS/DISCUSSION/MARINE...BURKE AVIATION...JELSEMA
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
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in New Mexico, July 4, 2015
- Heavy Rain in West Virginia, July 4, 2015
- Rip Current in Texas, July 4, 2015
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 4, 2015
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Louisiana, July 4, 2015
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, July 4 to 5, 2015
- Lightning Strike in Texas, July 4, 2015
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Kentucky, July 4 to 5, 2015
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, July 4, 2015
- Flash Flood and Hail in South Dakota, July 4 to 5, 2015
- Damaging Winds in Louisiana, July 4 to 5, 2015
- High Surf in Hawaii, July 4 to 8, 2015
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, July 2015
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: 585913.