Brush fire caused some damage, mayor reports | News, Sports, Jobs
Firetrucks are positioned outside the fence near Hammerhead Metals Recycling in the Central Maui Baseyard, as firefighters douse hot spots Monday in a brush fire that burned 1,500 acres in Puunene. LENIE LAWRENCE photo
A fire that burned 1,500 acres in Puunene was 95 percent contained Monday morning, as the National Weather Service warned of critical wildfire conditions because of dry fuel, strong winds and low humidity.
The fire started at about 1 p.m. Sunday near the old Puunene School and Puunene Post Office. Maui Veterans Highway was closed and the Central Maui Baseyard and Maui Humane Society were evacuated as the fire moved quickly toward those areas.
The highway was reopened shortly before 6 p.m., when the fire was about 85 percent contained, county officials said.
Firefighters and helicopters were assisted by bulldozers and tanker trucks from private companies in fighting the fire, Mayor Michael Victorino said at his daily briefing Monday.
He credited “a tremendous job by our firefighters” in containing the fire. “For a while, they were afraid it was heading to Maalaea facilities,” he said.
Hawaiian Telcom crews worked through the night to repair a fiber optic cable damaged by the fire, said Hawaiian Telcom spokeswoman Ann Nishida. She said the repairs were completed at about 6 a.m. Monday after crews waited on scene Sunday night until the area was determined to be safe to enter.
On Monday, firefighters were working to put out hot spots and continue securing the fire perimeter, said Fire Services Chief Rylan Yatsushiro.
He said the cause of the fire hadn’t been determined. Damages, including some reported at the Central Maui Baseyard, also hadn’t been determined, Yatsushiro said. He said fire inspectors were expected to be at the fire scene today.
Victorino said there was damage to some vehicles and equipment at Schnitzer Steel recycling in the Central Maui Baseyard.
“We’re blessed, again, not to have any injuries and minimal damage to our infrastructure and no structure damage,” Victorino said.
The Weather Service Red Flag Warning for leeward areas of all Hawaiian Islands was issued through Monday evening, citing “the lack of any significant rainfall through the summer months” that have left fields very dry in parts of the state.
“These dry conditions combined with breezy trades and relative humidity dipping below 45 percent through the afternoon hours will support extreme fire behavior” Monday, according to the warning.
A U.S. Drought Monitor map released last week rated West Maui as experiencing “severe drought.” Abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions were reported in other areas of Maui.
Compared with 41 percent of the state a year ago, about 32 percent of the state is drought-free, according to the monitor.
September and October are typically the months most prone to wildfires in the state, according to a news release from the “Wildfire & Drought Lookout” awareness campaign.
“However, there are no longer typical fire seasons in the islands, as in recent years we’ve seen wildfires break out every month of the year,” said Michael Walker, state protection forester for the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
Kevin Kodama, senior service hydrologist with the Weather Service forecast office in Honolulu said “vegetation conditions have really become dry over portions of the state during August, especially in the leeward areas of Maui County where severe drought has been quite persistent.”
He said there may be a late start to the October-to-April wet season until November.
“We’ve already experienced several large fires on Oahu and Maui and high-risk conditions will persist, especially in leeward areas, until we get significant rainfall,” said Clay Trauernicht, associate specialist in ecosystem fire with the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service.
According to the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, 95 percent of fires are caused by people, usually accidentally.
People can help prevent wildfires by not parking on dry grass; not using equipment that sparks, especially on dry days; keeping grass cut short and trees trimmed high; and cleaning piles of leaves in yards, rain gutters and around structures, according to the organization.
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.
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