Wildfire, Kona
- When
- January 20, 3:30 PM HST to January 21, 6:00 AM 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 20 to 21, 2016
A fire blackened nearly 200 acres of mainly fountaingrass near Hawaii Community College-Palamanui in leeward Big Island. No structures were threatened, though some nearby residents and people at the college voluntarily evacuated the area because of the smoke.
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 nearly 200 acres of mainly fountaingrass near Hawaii Community College-Palamanui in leeward Big Island. No structures were threatened, though some nearby residents and people at the college voluntarily evacuated the area because of the smoke. There were no reports of significant injuries. The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
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 20, 9:56 AM HST, 5 hours 34 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 9:56 AM HST, 5 hours 34 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 956 AM HST WED JAN 20 2016 .SYNOPSIS... A BAND OF LOW CLOUDS AND SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK FRONT WILL PUSH SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE SMALLER ISLANDS TODAY AND TONIGHT. A BRIEF RETURN OF THE TRADE WINDS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL FOCUS CLOUDS AND SHOWERS OVER THE WINDWARD SLOPES. LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS WITH DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND...AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. VERY LARGE OCEAN WAVES WILL MAKE NORTH AND WEST FACING BEACHES EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TODAY AND TONIGHT. && .DISCUSSION... LOW CLOUDS AND SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH A DISSIPATING FRONT HAVE REACHED OAHU THIS MORNING AND WILL CONTINUE INTO MAUI COUNTY TODAY. THE LOW CLOUDS WILL LINGER FROM KAUAI TO MAUI THROUGH TODAY AS THE FRONT SLOWLY DISSIPATES. LIMITED SHOWERS WILL FOCUS OVER NORTH FACING SLOPES TODAY AS NORTH NORTHEAST WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT PUSH MOISTURE INTO THE MOUNTAINS. A TRANSIENT HIGH PRESSURE WILL TRANSVERSE FROM WEST TO EAST IN THE AREA NORTH OF THE ISLANDS... AND WILL BRING TRADE WINDS TO THE STATE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH LIMITED WINDWARD CLOUDS AND SHOWERS. LEEWARD LOCATIONS WILL EXPERIENCE MAINLY FINE AND PLEASANT SENSIBLE WEATHER. ANOTHER APPROACHING WEAK FRONT WILL PUSH THE A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE BACK NEAR THE ISLANDS SATURDAY BRINGING LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS OVER THE WEEKEND...AND INTO NEXT WEEK. AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES WILL DEVELOP WITH THE ASSOCIATED LOW CLOUD BUILDUPS OVER THE MOUNTAINS... WITH THE OPPOSING DOWNSLOPE FLOW AND CLEARING SKIES OVERNIGHT. WINDWARD AREAS WILL EXPERIENCE WARMER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES UNDER THIS REGIME AS SKIES WILL REMAIN CLEARER THAN NORMAL DURING THE PEAK HEATING TIMES. NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES WILL DROP BELOW NORMAL AS THE DOWNSLOPE FLOW BRINGS COOLER AIR FROM HIGHER ELEVATIONS TO SEA LEVEL. && .AVIATION... A WEAK FRONT ACROSS THE WESTERN END OF THE STATE WILL BRING CLOUDS AND FEW SHOWERS ACROSS KAUAI THROUGH MAUI COUNTY. TEMPO MVFR CIGS AND MTN OBSC WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR PORTIONS OF THESE ISLANDS THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON...BUT OTHERWISE VFR WILL PREVAIL OVER THE ISLANDS TODAY. THE FRONT WILL LIKELY DISSIPATE TONIGHT OVER MAUI COUNTY. && .MARINE... A VERY LARGE NORTH-NORTHWEST SWELL WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD ACROSS HAWAIIAN WATERS THIS MORNING. THE HANALEI BUOY IS PEAKING NEAR 17 FEET 18 SECONDS AS OF 8AM... WHILE THE WAIMEA BUOY CONTINUES TO RISE WITH AN 8AM READING OF 12 FEET 18 SECONDS. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY /SCA/ IS POSTED FOR WATERS EXPOSED TO THE SWELL. THIS SWELL WILL WARNING LEVEL SURF TO MOST NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME OF THIS SWELL ENERGY WILL ALSO IMPACT THE NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND...SO A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THOSE SHORES. THE SWELL WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT...AND THEN GRADUALLY DROP THURSDAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND. ANOTHER VERY LARGE SWELL IS EXPECTED SUNDAY MORNING FROM THE WEST NORTHWEST. SEAS WILL INCREASE WELL OVER 10 FEET AND BRING WARNING LEVEL SURF. ELSEWHERE...SMALL SOUTH SWELLS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF WARNING UNTIL 6 AM HST THURSDAY FOR NIIHAU-KAUAI WINDWARD-KAUAI LEEWARD-WAIANAE COAST-OAHU NORTH SHORE-OAHU KOOLAU-MOLOKAI-MAUI WINDWARD WEST-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY-WINDWARD HALEAKALA. HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST THURSDAY FOR KONA-BIG ISLAND NORTH AND EAST-KOHALA. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST THURSDAY 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-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND WINDWARD WATERS. && MORRISON...DISCUSSION AND MARINE FOSTER...AVIATION
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
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 20, 2016
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 20, 2016
- Winter Weather in Virginia, January 20, 2016
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Tennessee, January 20, 2016
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 20, 2016
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Georgia, January 20, 2016
- Winter Weather in Ohio, January 20, 2016
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 20, 2016
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, January 20, 2016
- Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 20, 2016
- Dense Fog in California, January 20 to 22, 2016
- High Surf in Hawaii, January 20 to 21, 2016
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 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: 610171.