Name: Wildfire in Hawaii, July 30 to 31, 2021
Start: 2021-07-30T10:45
End: 2021-07-31T23:59
Location: Hawaii

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.

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Wind
Hail
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Heat and drought
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Marine and coastal
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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.

One of the largest brush fires in Hawaii County history started in the morning hours of Friday, July 30th, in the South Kohala District along Mana Road near Parker Ranch land. The wind-swept blaze blackened more than 40,000 acres of mainly dry pastureland and grasses, though the fire forced the evacuation of Waikoloa Village for a time as the month turned to August. The blaze also destroyed two homes in the area. The fire, as mentioned above, stretched into August. The cost of damages was unavailable, and the cause of the blaze was unknown.

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 30, 10:00 AM HST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 30, 10:00 AM HST, 45 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Honolulu HI
1000 AM HST Fri Jul 30 2021

.SYNOPSIS...
Trade winds will strengthen this weekend with strong trades
persisting into early next week. A dry air mass moving in today
will bring fair trade wind weather with the best chance of showers
during the overnight and early morning periods over windward and
mauka locations.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
High pressure far north of the state will strengthen and will
produce strong trade winds over the weekend, especially Saturday
night into Sunday. Trades will then slightly weaken early next
week but will remain breezy through much of next week. A
relatively dry airmass will begin to move in from east to west
across the state today and will remain in place through at least
the middle of next week. This will limit the shower activity to
mainly windward and mauka areas, with leeward areas remaining
mostly dry. The combination of dry conditions and breezy trades
will begin to elevate fire weather concerns as our fuels continue
to dry out through next week.

&&

.AVIATION...
Moderate to breezy easterly trade winds will continue throughout
the next couple of days as high pressure remains northeast of the
state. Drier air approaching the region today and into the
weekend will keep shower activity limited to north and east facing
slopes and coasts, particularly during the overnight and early
morning periods. The lone exception will be the Kona coast of the
Big Island where isolated showers will be possible this afternoon.

AIRMET Sierra remains in effect for north through east facing
sections of Kauai, Molokai, and Maui this morning for mountain
obscuration above 2500 feet. However, improvement is expected
later this morning, especially across Maui County where coverage
of low clouds has already begun to decrease.

AIRMET Tango remains in effect for moderate turbulence below 8000
ft over and immediately south thru west of mountains of all
islands as the moderate to breezy trade winds persist throughout
the forecast period.

&&

.MARINE...
High pressure ridging north of the area will strengthen, which
will then boost the trade winds, through the weekend. Thus,
widespread breezy to strong trades are expected over most Hawaiian
waters by Sunday. The latest Small Craft Advisory will likely be
expanded in coverage over the next couple of days due to the
increasing trade winds.

Surf along east facing shores will remain small through today,
then trend up through the weekend in response to strengthening
trades locally and upstream of the islands.

Southerly swell energy will remain rather weak for this time of
year, with just background swells expected from the south and
southeast. Nearly flat conditions will continue for north and west
facing shores into early next week.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM HST Sunday for Oahu Leeward
Waters-Kaiwi Channel-Maui County Windward Waters-Maui County
Leeward Waters-Maalaea Bay-Pailolo Channel-Alenuihaha Channel-
Big Island Leeward Waters-Big Island Southeast Waters.

&&

DISCUSSION...Kino
AVIATION...Vaughan
MARINE...Kinel

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Kohala

When: July 30, 10:45 AM HST to July 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Kohala forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2021 Every state in 2021 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, July 2021

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: 964155.