Wildfire in Hawaii, May 11 to 15, 2015

Name: Wildfire in Hawaii, May 11 to 15, 2015
Start: 2015-05-11T10:30
End: 2015-05-15T18:00
Location: Hawaii

May 11 to 15, 2015 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A fire charred 15 acres of dry brush in Naalehu in the Kau District on the Big Island of Hawaii. It destroyed one structure, an unpermitted home, in the Green Sands Subdivision.

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 15 acres of dry brush in Naalehu in the Kau District on the Big Island of Hawaii. It destroyed one structure, an unpermitted home, in the Green Sands Subdivision. The blaze also forced the evacuation of 10 other homes in the immediate vicinity, near Pele and Mark Twain roads. The fire was caused by someone who had been burning rubbish in a 55-gallon drum that subsequently got away from him. There were no reports of serious injuries. The cost of the damages had not been determined.

The fire had been sustained for a good length of time by moderate to fresh winds in the area, as high as 20 to 25 mph at times.

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 May 11, 10:00 AM HST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 11, 10:00 AM HST, 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST MON MAY 11 2015

.SYNOPSIS...
A STRONG HIGH NORTH OF THE ISLANDS WILL MAINTAIN BREEZY TRADE WINDS
THROUGH TOMORROW. THE TRADES WILL FOCUS SHOWERS OVER MAINLY WINDWARD
AREAS...BUT SOME SHOWERS WILL SPREAD TO LEEWARD AREAS OF THE SMALLER
ISLANDS. THE HIGH WILL START TO WEAKEN AND MOVE SOUTHEAST TOMORROW
EVENING. TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE...BUT WINDS SPEEDS WILL SUBSIDE A
BIT BY MIDWEEK. A LOW ALOFT MAY MAKE SHOWERS MORE ACTIVE WEDNESDAY
AND THURSDAY...ESPECIALLY ON THE BIG ISLAND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A STRONG 1033MB SURFACE HIGH CENTERED ABOUT 1350 MILES NORTHEAST
THE AREA...NEAR 39N149W...HAS BEEN PRODUCING THE BREEZY TRADE WINDS
AFFECTING THE ISLANDS FOR THE PAST FEW DAYS. THE HIGH IS FORECAST TO
REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH FOR THE
NEXT 36 HOURS...SO WE CAN EXPECT LITTLE CHANGE IN THE TRADES THROUGH
TOMORROW EVENING. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS ONLY SPARSE CLOUDS
IMMEDIATELY UPSTREAM OF THE ISLANDS FROM KAUAI TO WEST MAUI...SO THE
WEATHER SHOULD BE MOSTLY DRY THROUGH THIS EVENING. THERE ARE SHOWERY
BROKEN LOW CLOUDS MOVING TOWARD EAST MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND. SOME
OF THESE CLOUDS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE SHOWERS OVER WINDWARD EAST MAUI
AND THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE BIG ISLAND. THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE
BIG ISLAND WILL PROBABLY REMAIN WETTER THAN THE REST OF THE AREA
TONIGHT.

THE GLOBAL MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT SHOWING THE SURFACE HIGH
NORTHEAST OF THE AREA STARTING TO MOVE SOUTHEAST AND WEAKEN TOMORROW
EVENING. A RIDGE TRAILING SOUTHWEST FROM THE HIGH WILL KEEP THE
TRADES BLOWING...BUT THE WIND SPEEDS WILL SUBSIDE BY WEDNESDAY.

MEANWHILE...THE GLOBAL MODELS ALSO SHOW AN EAST NORTHEAST TO WEST
SOUTHWEST TROUGH ALOFT...THE TYPE OF SYSTEM OFTEN CALLED A TROPICAL
UPPER TROPOSPHERIC TROUGH OR TUTT. THESE TROUGHS ARE A COMMON
FEATURE DURING THE WARM SEASON...AND THIS ONE WILL LIKELY PERSIST
THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE MODELS SHOW A LOW ALOFT FORMING WITHIN THE
TROUGH NORTH OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS BY TONIGHT...MOVING DOWN
TO JUST NORTHEAST OF THE BIG ISLAND THURSDAY MORNING...THEN MOVING
OFF TO THE NORTHEAST. THIS LOW WILL PRODUCE COLDER TEMPERATURES
ALOFT...MAKING THE ATMOSPHERE LESS STABLE. THE ATMOSPHERE IS
EXPECTED TO REMAIN FAIRLY DRY THROUGH THE WEEK...LIMITING THE IMPACT
OF THE LOW...BUT SHOWERS MAY BECOME MORE ACTIVE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH THURSDAY...ESPECIALLY ON THE BIG ISLAND.

THE OUTLOOK FOR NEXT WEEK IS FOR TRADE WINDS TO CONTINUE...WITH
NIGHT AND MORNING SHOWERS OVER WINDWARD AREAS AND SOME AFTERNOON
SHOWERS OVER THE KONA DISTRICT OF THE BIG ISLAND.

&&

.AVIATION...
AIRMET TANGO REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TEMPO MODERATE/ISOL SEVERE
LOW-LEVEL TURBULENCE LEEWARD OF THE MOUNTAINS ON ALL ISLANDS DUE TO
STRONG LOW-LEVEL TRADE WINDS AND FOR MODERATE TURBULENCE BETWEEN
FL300 AND FL400 ASSOCIATED WITH A STRONG WEST TO EAST JET STREAM
ALOFT.

VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL...BUT THERE WILL BE SOME MVFR CEILINGS
AND VSBY...MAINLY ON THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE BIG ISLAND. AIRMET
SIERRA IS UP FOR MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION ON THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE
BIG ISLAND. AIRMETS FOR MTN OBSC ON THE BIG ISLAND ARE LIKELY TO GO
UP AND DOWN OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

&&

.MARINE...
A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...SCA...CONTINUES FOR ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS
THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY MORNING WITH NEAR-GALE FORCE WINDS IN THE
ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL AND WATERS SOUTH OF THE BIG ISLAND. THE TRADES
ARE EXPECTED TO WEAKEN BY THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK AS A STRONG HIGH
NORTHEAST OF THE AREA MOVES SOUTHEAST AND WEAKEN. WE EXPECT TO BE
ABLE TO DROP THE SCA FOR MOST OF THE COASTAL WATERS BY WEDNESDAY...
BUT THE SCA IS LIKELY TO STAY UP FOR THE WINDIER AREAS AROUND THE
BIG ISLAND AND MAUI.

A SMALL NORTHWEST SWELL WILL ARRIVE THURSDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH
THE WEEKEND. A SERIES OF SMALL SOUTH SWELLS WILL ALSO CONTINUE
THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. BREEZY TRADE WINDS WILL PRODUCE SHORT
PERIOD CHOPPY SURF ALONG EAST FACING SHORELINES DURING THE NEXT
COUPLE OF DAYS.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 600 AM TUESDAY FOR ALL HAWAIIAN
WATERS.

&&

DONALDSON

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, South Big Island

When: May 11, 10:30 AM HST to May 15, 6:00 PM HST
Where: South Big Island forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper

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

Every storm in Hawaii in 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, May 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: 571274.