Sparking prevention: Officials urge caution with wildfire risk heightened in Big Island areas under wind advisory

Update 3:45 a.m. Monday: The National Weather Service has extended its wind advisory to 6 p.m. Tuesday. The forecast calls for northeast to east winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts to around 50 mph.

The forecast also calls for east winds of 35 to 50 mph with gusts up to 60 mph on Big Island summits through 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Original story: Hawai‘i County Civil Defense urges the public in the dry and drought-stricken areas under a wind advisory in effect through Monday (July 7) to exercise caution when planning and having outside activities — especially when fire is involved.

Any spark creates an opportunity for wildfire to ignite where there are strong, high winds; very low relative humidity levels; and dry fuels available to consume.

“Be careful with the use of open flame and fire and hotwork activity,” Civil Defeesne said in an early afternoon message. “Please avoid parking vehicles on dry grass after travel.”

Winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph are forecast for the advisory areas of North Kohala and portions of South Kohala, North Kona, Hāmākua, Kaʻū and Puna — the normally windier, and drier, areas of the Big Island.

High winds are expected to persist as a strong high pressure ridge to the north of the islands set up a stable and breezy to windy trade wind pattern.

The strong pressure ridge led to increasing winds in those windier areas of the Big Island and Maui County, with National Weather Service forecasters in Honolulu not expecting winds to decrease — slightly — until Wednesday.

An updated forecast from just after 3 p.m. today said the strongest winds are now expected Monday and Tuesday, with the next 2 days featuring even more widespread advisory level winds in the areas already under the wind advisory while the high pressure ridge continues to strengthen.

At the same time, minimum relative humidity at lower leeward elevations is likely to fall to or below 45% this afternoon and Monday afternoon along with temperature inversion heights dropping as low as 5,000 feet.

That temperature inversion level indicates a stable layer of warm air closer to the ground, trapping dry air with it and increasing the risk of fire spread.

Marginal fire weather conditions will continue into the middle of this week as trades strengthen Monday and Tuesday, the updated forecast said, along with temperature inversion heights remaining at about 6,500 feet under a slightly drier airmass.

Nearly 87% of the Big Island is also abnormally dry or under drought, according to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor data as of July 1.

About 57% of the island is experiencing varying degrees of actual drought, including all of the areas covered by the wind advisory, with the North Kohala, South Kohala, Kaʻū and especially Hāmākua — a portion of which is under extreme drought — seeing some of the worst dry conditions.

That adds fuel to any future flames, literally, because of how dry vegetation is in those parched and arid areas.

All of those conditions combined will result in near critical fire weather conditions at times in dry leeward areas during the next couple of days — the reason Civil Defense issued its plea, and why Hawaiian Electric is again closely monitoring the situation in areas of Maui and Hawai‘i counties more prone to wildfire.

The electric utility already proactively shut off power to about 330 of its Upcountry Maui customers early Sunday afternoon through its Public Safety Power Shutoff Program because of the threat of wildfire.

Additional power shutoffs could be initiated in other areas of the Valley Isle and Big Island — where communities are at high risk of wildfire — as Hawaiian Electric remains in “watch” mode during the next 24 to 48 hours, especially while the wind advisory remains in effect.

If weather conditions intensify in any of those high-risk communities, Hawaiian Electric could implement the Public Safety Power Shutoff Program again and proactively turn off the power.

Customers in all high-risk wildfire areas are urged to implement their own emergency plans and prepare for the possibility of extended power outages.

Hawaiian Electric informed those 330 Upcountry Maui customers at about 2:30 p.m. they should prepare to be without electricity through Monday morning, as power will remain off until weather conditions improve and crews can inspect lines and equipment in the area as well as make any necessary repairs.

“We know that being without electricity for any amount of time creates an inconvenience for our customers and we apologize for the disruption,” said Hawaiian Electric Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Jim Alberts in an update from the utility. “We only activate a [public safety power shutoff] as a last line of defense to protect lives and reduce the risk of a wildfire.”

He said in an earlier update that the utility continues to watch weather conditions closely and will restore power to those it shutoff as soon as it is safe to do so.

When a public safety power shutoff is initiated:

• Power will remain shut off as long as hazardous weather conditions persist.
• When weather improves, power lines must be inspected and any damage repaired before service can be restored. This could involve ground crews and aerial inspections using helicopters and drones.
• This process could result in extended outages lasting several hours or possibly even days, depending on the location and extent of any damage.

Maps of specific areas on each island that have high wildfire risk and could be subject to a public safety power shutoff can be found on Hawaiian Electric’s website.

Hawaiian Electric urges customers to be safe:

• Stay at least 30 or more feet away from all downed power lines. Warn others to stay away. Call Hawaiian Electric’s Hawai‘i Island Trouble Line at 1-855-304-9191. Call 9-1-1 for emergency assistance.
• Help protect line workers and crews when you see them on the roadside assessing damages or making emergency repairs; if you must travel, move over from the lane nearest the workers or slow down until you can safely pass the work site.
• Use extreme caution when driving. Power interruptions could cause traffic signals to stop working without warning. If you come to an intersection with a non-working traffic signal, treat it as a four-way stop.
• Make sure your portable generator — if you’re using one — is placed in a well-ventilated area outside your home. Carefully follow all instructions in the manufacturer’s manual.
• Ensure all electric appliances, especially ovens and stoves, are turned off to prevent fires when power is restored.

Hawaiian Electric will provide updates through news media and the following mobile-friendly resources:

• Hawaiian Electric website.
• Twitter/X.
• Facebook.
• Mobile app: Free download available on the Apple Store and Google Play.

REMEMBER: Outages not related to the Public Safety Power Shutoff Program could also still occur because of high winds and other conditions.

Call Hawaiian Electric’s Public Safety Power Shutoff toll-free hotline at 1-844-483-8666 or click here to get additional information.

Check the Hawaiʻi Hazard Impact Map in the event a wildfire ignites or another emergency happens for information about its location as well as any associated road closures, emergency shelters, evacuations and more.