Wildfire, Leeward Haleakala
- When
- February 15, 5:40 PM HST to February 29, 11:59 PM HST
- Where
- Leeward Haleakala forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
Wildfire in Hawaii, February 15 to 29, 2016
A fire blackened about 5300 acres of dry brush, grass, and haole koa in the southern parts of East Maui. The blaze was along and on either side of Piilani Highway between mile markers 22 and 27, which forced the closure of the roadway for periods of time while firefighters worked to get the fire under control.
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 5300 acres of dry brush, grass, and haole koa in the southern parts of East Maui. The blaze was along and on either side of Piilani Highway between mile markers 22 and 27, which forced the closure of the roadway for periods of time while firefighters worked to get the fire under control. The blaze also caused 10 residents to flee the Kahikinui Homesteads as a precaution.
The fire was contained by Saturday, Feb. 20, but it was not extinguished because much of it was inaccessible. Another flare-up occurred on the 24th, and the fire began moving up the slope of Haleakala. It remained inaccessible in places, so fire officials planned to let the blaze burn itself out. The cause of the fire was not known. No serious injuries or property damage were reported.
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 Feb 15, 3:44 PM HST, 1 hour 56 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 15, 3:44 PM HST, 1 hour 56 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 344 PM HST MON FEB 15 2016 .SYNOPSIS... A RATHER BREEZY TRADE WIND WEATHER PATTERN CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN NORTHWEST OF THE STATE. MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAKENING FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL CAUSE AN INCREASE IN SHOWERS TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY ESPECIALLY FOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS. THE TRADE WINDS WILL BE SUFFICIENTLY STRONG TO BLOW SOME SHOWERS OVER TO LEEWARD AREAS AT TIMES. DRIER WEATHER AND LIGHTER TRADE WINDS ARE EXPECTED LATER IN THE WEEK AND ON INTO THE WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION... TRADE WINDS ARE CURRENTLY BLOWING ACROSS THE STATE AS AREAS OF HIGH PRESSURE LIE BOTH NE AND NW OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. RADAR IMAGERY SHOWERS A FEW SHOWERS EMBEDDED IN THE TRADES PROVIDING FOR SOME BRIEF WINDWARD AND MAUKA SHOWERS ESPECIALLY OVER KAUAI. BETWEEN THESE TWO HIGHS LIES A WEAKENING FRONTAL BOUNDARY WITH THE LEADING EDGE NOW JUST REACHING KAUAI. AS THE HIGH TO THE NW MOVES EASTWARD OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...THE FRONTS REMNANT MOISTURE WILL EVENTUALLY GET CAUGHT UP IN THE TRADES WITH AN INCREASE IN SHOWER ACTIVITY ESPECIALLY FOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS. THE INCREASE IN SHOWERS WILL BEGIN FIRST OVER KAUAI AND THEN GRADUALLY SPREAD DOWN THE ISLAND CHAIN INTO THE MID WEEK PERIOD. THE HIGH IS RATHER STRONG SO BREEZY TRADE WINDS WILL BE THE RESULT OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN POSTED FOR LANAI AND KAHOOLAWE WHERE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE THE STRONGEST. THE BREEZY TRADE WINS WILL ALSO ALLOW FOR SOME PASSING SHOWERS TO SPREAD OVER THE LEEWARD AREAS OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS AT TIMES. LATER IN THE WEEK THE HIGH WILL WEAKEN WITH TRADE WIND SPEEDS DIMINISHING A BIT. ALSO A DRIER AIRMASS IS FORECAST TO MOVE OVER THE AREA WITH DECREASING CHANCES OF SHOWERS. ANOTHER FRONT IS FORECAST TO APPROACH THE AREA NEXT WEEKEND WITH WINDS BECOMING LIGHT AND VARIABLE OUT AHEAD OF IT. && .AVIATION... THE EASTERN MOST CLOUDS AND SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WEAKENING FRONTAL BAND HAVE REACHED KAUAI THIS AFTERNOON. AIRMET SIERRA FOR MOUNTAIN OBSC IS POSTED OVER KAUAI WITH TEMPO MVFR TO ISOL IFR CONDITIONS. EXPECT THIS TO REMAIN POSTED AT LEAST INTO THE NIGHT...LIKELY LONGER...AS THE FRONTAL BAND DRIFTS SE. THIS WILL BE EXPANDED AS THE OTHER ISLANDS BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE INCREASED CLOUDS AND SHOWERS FROM THE WEAKENING AND DISSIPATING FRONTAL BAND. OTHERWISE...PASSING SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL INTRODUCE BRIEF MVFR CONDITIONS. ELEVATED NE TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY WITH SPEEDS INCREASING SLIGHTLY TOMORROW. AIRMET TANGO FOR LOW LEVEL TURB REMAINS POSTED FOR AREAS OVER AND S THROUGH W FOR THE MOUNTAINS FOR ALL ISLANDS. && .MARINE... WITH HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING IN NW OF THE AREA...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OVER MOST COASTAL WATERS WITH A GALE WARNING POSTED FOR PORTIONS OF THE WATERS SURROUNDING THE BIG ISLAND. THE CURRENT WEST NORTHWEST SWELL WILL GRADUALLY LOWER OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS BUT SURF REMAINS HIGH ENOUGH TO KEEP THE HIGH SURF ADVISORY POSTED THROUGH TONIGHT. ANOTHER SMALL NORTHWEST SWELL IS EXPECTED FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WITH A MUCH LARGER NORTHWEST SWELL EXPECTED FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY. STRENGTHENING TRADE WINDS WILL CAUSE AN INCREASE IN SHORT PERIOD CHOPPY SURF ALONG EAST FACING SHORES. THUS A HIGH SURF ADVISORY HAS BEEN POSTED FOR EAST FACING SHORES. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST WEDNESDAY FOR NIIHAU-KAUAI WINDWARD-KAUAI LEEWARD-OAHU NORTH SHORE-OAHU KOOLAU-OLOMANA- MOLOKAI-MAUI WINDWARD WEST-WINDWARD HALEAKALA-SOUTH BIG ISLAND- BIG ISLAND NORTH AND EAST. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR LANAI-KAHOOLAWE. GALE WARNING UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND LEEWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND SOUTHEAST WATERS. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST WEDNESDAY FOR KAUAI NORTHWEST WATERS-KAUAI WINDWARD WATERS-KAUAI LEEWARD WATERS- KAUAI CHANNEL-OAHU WINDWARD WATERS-OAHU LEEWARD WATERS-KAIWI CHANNEL-MAUI COUNTY WINDWARD WATERS-MAUI COUNTY LEEWARD WATERS- MAALAEA BAY-PAILOLO CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND WINDWARD WATERS. && SYNOPSIS/DISCUSSION/MARINE...BURKE AVIATION...EATON
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
- Tornado and Hail in Florida, February 15, 2016
- Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, February 15, 2016
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, February 15 to 16, 2016
- Damaging Winds in Florida, February 15, 2016
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, February 15 to 16, 2016
- Winter Storm in New York, February 15 to 16, 2016
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 15 to 16, 2016
- Winter Weather in Vermont, February 15 to 16, 2016
- Damaging Winds and Winter Weather in Georgia, February 15 to 16, 2016
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, February 15, 2016
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Louisiana, February 15, 2016
- Tornado and Hail in Mississippi, February 15, 2016
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, February 2016
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: 614138.