KAILUA-KONA — Don’t heave a sigh of relief just yet. ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — Don’t heave a sigh of relief just yet. A couple of weeks of unsettled weather have brought a much needed drink of rainwater to parched areas of
KAILUA-KONA — Don’t heave a sigh of relief just yet.
A couple of weeks of unsettled weather have brought a much needed drink of rainwater to parched areas of the Big Island and state. The rain has convinced coffee orchards to bloom, brightened crisp pastures in North Hawaii, and even caused streams to overflow their banks.
But it seems these signs are largely deceptive, with forecasters still warning of drought conditions ahead and fire officials saying the quick spats of rain only serve to build more fuel load — which is likely to become an increased wildfire hazard during the extensive dry periods that are predicted.
“We’re getting toward the end of the wet season, and leeward areas are on course for less and less rainfall going into summer,” said Kevin Kodama, a hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
In essence, expect more of the dry conditions that pretty well gripped the island in the first quarter of the year and caused extreme drought in West Hawaii. Hawaii should brace for continued lower-than-normal rainfall this spring and above average temperatures in the summer, according to a long-range outlook issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s Climate Prediction Center.
Drought conditions covered about 80 percent of the state in early April, and half of Hawaii fell under the severe drought category, according to Kodama’s latest report. Most of it happened in North and South Kona, with severe drought also spreading down into Ka‘u and Puna.
But the last week or so could have fooled you.
Waimea was soaked with 3 inches of rain on Thursday. Kahua Ranch got 4.2 inches and Hilo Airport gathered nearly an inch. The Saddle Road Quarry gauge has been getting doused all through the week, and Kealakekua — which has been way below average along with Honaunau and other parts of the coffee belt — received a 1/2 inch at mid-week.
Go back a bit further to March 25 and you find torrential rain and flash flooding on Hawaii Island and around the state. Because it came as fast and sudden as it did, most of the water rolled away without providing meaningful relief, Kodama said.
These sudden downpours are part of the pattern, said Elizabeth Pickett, executive director of the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, based in Waimea. The moisture stays just long enough to encourage vegetation growth, then it disappears and takes its time coming back.
The rain has brought relief to pastures on Parker Ranch land, especially areas around the West Hawaii Concrete facility south of Waimea.
“We had some feed out there that was browning up, but the rain was very helpful,” said the ranch’s senior manager Nahua Guilloz. “We’re continuing to be hopeful we get more storms.”
But the Big Island shouldn’t bank on a lot of these events moving into the months ahead, Kodama said.
In March, ranchers in North Hawaii and Puna were thinning out their herds, lacking adequate forage for their animals. Coffee fields lay dormant, a dearth of rain was hindering fruit from developing properly and feral animals were tearing up farms and yards looking for water. Much of the loss in precipitation has been blamed on a strong El Nino, which tends to bring a dry, stable air pattern to the state.
A coordinated group of federal, state and county fire officials have declared a wildfire and drought lookout, said Pickett. Officials with the National Park Service, the U.S. Army, the Hawaii County Fire Department and the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife are on alert, she said.
“The forecast is really dismal as far as long dry periods and vegetation growth,” Pickett said.
The public will see the agencies roll out a wildfire awareness campaign in May in coordination with the national Wildfire Awareness Month, Pickett said.
Residents can do simple things to protect themselves from wildfire. They include landscaping with native plants — most of which are naturally fire resistant — and cutting down and removing brush and other fuel from near their homes.
“Many (introduced) plants that don’t get enough water during a drought will drop their leaves and create a fire hazard,” Pickett said.
