Hawaii Fire Danger

Hawaii DOH open burning and agricultural burning permits carries the open burning rules under the state air pollution control rules and how an agricultural burning permit is obtained, and that is the current answer. Burn bans in Hawaii are declared and lifted by county authorities and by Hawaii Department of Health, Clean Air Branch, sometimes inside a day, so the status is theirs to publish. This page carries today's National Weather Service fire weather for Hawaii, the federal record of what fire looks like here, and the link to that page.

At Hawaii DOH open burning and agricultural burning permits, published by Hawaii Department of Health, Clean Air Branch. Link verified 2026-09-02. Even that page may not be the last word: in most states a county, a city or a fire district can be stricter than the state, and on federal land the managing unit issues its own order. If you are within a few miles of a national forest, a park or BLM ground, that unit has a separate order and it is not on the state page.

A Red Flag Warning is a National Weather Service product, not a legal order. NWS describes it this way: "NWS issues a Red Flag Warning, in conjunction with land management agencies, to alert land managers to an ongoing or imminent critical fire weather pattern. NWS issues a Red Flag Warning when fire conditions are ongoing or expected to occur shortly." It is issued for a fire weather zone, and NWS divides Hawaii into 43 of them, so one warning usually covers part of the state rather than all of it. Whether burning is prohibited is a separate question decided by Hawaii Department of Health, Clean Air Branch and by your county, though many states suspend permits automatically when a warning is out. Hawaii DOH open burning and agricultural burning permits is where that is published.

In NICC's 2025 record for Hawaii, 8 of 9 reported fires were human caused and 1 were lightning. The acre split is the more interesting one: 3,299 acres from human starts and 0 from lightning. That puts the state in the middle group of 9, where lightning is a real but minority ignition source. Those are NICC's numbers, reported through the interagency Situation Report.

No. NICC's table is fed by the interagency Situation Report, and no Hawaii state agency reports into it, so every figure on this page for Hawaii describes federal and tribal land only. Hawaii is one of five states in that position, alongside Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, South Carolina. Hawaii Department of Health, Clean Air Branch keeps the real state totals and they are much larger.

As of the US Drought Monitor map for 2026-08-25, 18.5 percent of Hawaii was in D0 abnormally dry conditions or worse, 0 percent in D1 moderate drought or worse and 0 percent in D2 severe drought or worse, with a Drought Severity and Coverage Index of 18. Those are the Drought Monitor's categories and its numbers, published weekly, not a fire rating. Drought sets how much fuel is available to burn; the weather on the day sets whether it does.

Hawaii Department of Health, Clean Air Branch publishes the state's own answer, and it is usually expressed as a permit season or a restricted burning period rather than as a season in the weather sense. Hawaii DOH open burning and agricultural burning permits carries the open burning rules under the state air pollution control rules and how an agricultural burning permit is obtained. Nationally the picture is that there is no off season anywhere: NIFC's National Preparedness Level runs on a 1 to 5 scale year round and the National Interagency Coordination Center publishes a significant wildland fire potential outlook every month for the next four months. The month you are least expecting fire is the month most people get caught.

No. The rating that exists is the National Fire Danger Rating System, which NWS describes as "A uniform fire danger rating system used in the United States that focuses on the environmental factors that impact the moisture content of fuels. Fire danger is rated daily over large administrative areas, such as national forests." Hawaii Department of Health, Clean Air Branch publishes a daily rating built on it, NWS issues Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches against fire weather zones, NIFC publishes a national preparedness level, and the Drought Monitor publishes drought categories. Those four are the numbers on this page, and a fifth would only add confusion on a subject where a wrong number burns houses down.

It runs on its own orders. A national forest, a national park, a BLM district and a wildlife refuge each issue their own fire restrictions, and those orders are not on the state page and often differ from it. In practice that means a state page can describe a fairly relaxed picture while a specific ranger district a few miles away is under a stage 2 restriction that prohibits all open flame. If your ground touches federal land, check the managing unit as well as Hawaii Department of Health, Clean Air Branch.