Hawaii Wildfires

[NJFFSA16]

HONOLULU (AP) - A conservation group and state forestry
officials aided firefighters Monday in efforts to contain a brush
fire that has burned since last week on the slopes of the Waianae
Mountains on Leeward Oahu, officials said.
A spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department said authorities
were hopeful the blaze, which has burned about 220 acres, could be
contained by late Monday.
"They haven't really called it contained, but it's not
spreading," said Capt. Kenison Tejada.
He said a 500-gallon portable water tank that was brought to the
site Sunday was helping firefighters douse hot spots and other
areas that are smoldering.
"It's mostly a lot of tree stumps smoldering out there,"
Tejada said.
The fire, which is burning near the Nature Conservancy's
Honouliuli Preserve in Kunia, began July 14. Authorities said the
blaze was believed to be sparked by children playing with fire.
Officials said the Nature Conservancy and wildlife experts from
the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife plan to conduct a
preliminary biological survey of the damaged area
"We will be mapping the burn area and checking for visible
damage to sensitive native species and their habitats," Nature
Conservancy spokeswoman Pauline Sato said in a news release.
Meanwhile, Army officials said preparations were still being
made Monday for a controlled burn to clear brush at Schofield
Barracks' West Range Training Area, also known as McCarthy Flats.
The controlled burn, scheduled for this week, involves 1,300
acres of brush being cleared by Army fire specialists to reduce the
risk of wild fires from training and other fire threats, the Army
said.
Last year, the Army acknowledged that it mismanaged a controlled
burn of 900 acres that raged out of control in Makua Valley and
scorched more than half of the training range's 4,200 acres.
After demanding that the Army take better care of the land or
face a lawsuit, preservation groups later reached an agreement to
allow live-fire training at Makua without the use of artillery
shells and mortars.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

NANAKULI, Hawaii (AP) - A brush fire that scorched 1,700 acres
in Nanakuli and Lualualei valleys on Oahu was contained early
Friday, while a fire on the Big Island burned more than 900 acres
near South Point, fire officials said.
The brush fire on the Big Island began in an open pasture area
Thursday afternoon, according to Hawaii County fire officials, who
had about 10 firefighters working to contain the blaze Friday.
On Oahu, the Nanakuli fire that began Tuesday afternoon and
crept into Lualualei Valley on Thursday was declared contained at 4
a.m., said Capt. Emmit Kane, spokesman for the Honolulu Fire
Department.
About 25 firefighters hiked into Nanakuli Valley on foot Friday,
working with picks, shovels, chain saws and water packs to put out
the remainder of the fire and stop any flare-ups, Kane said. The
department's helicopter assisted with water drops.
The fire is the largest so far on Oahu this year, said Kane.
Hawaii's brush fire season typically starts around the end of
May or beginning of June, and runs through the end of September. So
far there have been more than 200 fires this year, he said.
"It's a little unsettling because it's early on in the
season," Kane said. "Last year this time we had about 100, so
we're up to two times as many."
The Nature Conservancy said the Nanakuli fire was threatening
some 60 species of endangered native Hawaiian plants and animals in
its 3,582-acre Honouliuli Preserve in the Waianae Mountains, but
Kane said the fire had not encroached upon the habitat as of Friday
morning.
Kane said fire officials suspect the Nanakuli fire's origin is
suspicious and are working with police to find who many have
started it. He said a resident of the area reported seeing two
youths running from the scene Tuesday afternoon after the blaze
started.
Federal firefighters were working to contain the blaze in
Lualualei Valley, which burned about 70 acres, he said.
No structures were threatened by the fires, but state education
officials closed the public schools in Nanakuli on Thursday because
of smoke from the fire.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

By JEANNETTE J. LEE
Associated Press Writer
HONOLULU (AP) - A 13-year-old boy who allegedly set a cemetery
blaze last week, spawning a major brush fire that charred 3,000
acres in Nanakuli, was no more mischievous than his fellow
students, school officials said Friday.
The unidentified boy, a seventh grader at Nanakuli High and
Intermediate School, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of
second-degree criminal property damage and later released to his
parents without charges.
If charged and convicted, the teen could be kept in a juvenile
facility until he is 18.
School officials have asked the boy's parents to keep him at
home for the rest of the academic year because the teen could face
heckling or other retaliation from students.
But reaction to the arrest has been subdued around campus. Most
of the older students are accustomed to brush fires, which flare up
almost every year in the area, and the accused teen isn't
well-known on campus, school administrators said.
"The joke on the Leeward Coast is 'When's the brush fire's
going to start up?"' Principal Levi Chang said. "Nobody's really
talking about it. We're just glad it's over." He said the boy was
not especially troublesome and "fit right in with his peers."
Meanwhile, the boy's former elementary school is abuzz with
gossip about him and students seemed more affected emotionally by
the situation.
"The rumors are rampant," said Wendy Takahashi, principal of
Nanakuli Elementary.
She said the boy wasn't a major troublemaker.
"He was a little bit rascal, but it wasn't like he was the
worst kid," Takahashi said.
Honolulu police Chief Boisse Correa said the young student acted
alone.
Police have increased surveillance in the area to nab any
would-be arsonists.
The brush fires, which spread from a cemetery at the back of
Nanakuli Valley, threatened homes, schools and about 60 rare
indigenous animals and plants.
Several firefighters were injured as they rotated in and out of
the fiery brush and rocky terrain, fire officials said, and fire
protection across the island was stretched dangerously thin.
On some days, the department had 22 fire companies, or half of
its resources, on the scene at once, said Honolulu Fire Chief
Attilio Leonardi. The department had to deploy more than 100
firefighters to Nanakuli on the worst days.
"It thinned out resources for the rest of the island," said
Captain Kennison Tejada. "In the case of medical emergencies or
certain fires where the minutes are crucial, there would have been
at least a few minutes delay."
The department spent about $15,000 extra in overtime and meals.
Vehicle repair will cost another several thousand dollars, Tejada
estimated. Much of the money spent to fight the fires was part of
the department's budget.
The city attorney will decide if he will pursue restitution from
the boy's family, Tejada said.
The brush fires flared up on May 10 and took nine days for
firefighters to extinguish. It was the largest brush fire in Hawaii
this year.
Brush fires spiked this year on Oahu as hot spring weather dried
out plants that had grown thick and high during the unusually wet
winter. More than 200 brush fires were reported as of May 12,
compared with 89 reported the same time last year, the fire
department said.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii (AP) - Nearly 5,000 people were ordered to
evacuate their homes and the only road connecting this town to the
rest of the Big Island was closed as a spreading brush fire
approached, officials said.
No injuries were reported and officials had not confirmed
whether any structures had burned, Hawaii County Fire Capt. Felix
Asia said.
The evacuation order was in effect for 75 percent of the town's
6,500 residents, Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency acting
administrator Lanny Nakano said. Officials turned a community
center and elementary school into evacuation centers, while a local
resort opened its ballroom to evacuees and another school offered
dorm rooms.
Yuki Potter said she packed up her valuables and left Tuesday
afternoon when the smoke got too bad. She said several of her
neighbors were expecting to stay at resorts and hotels where they
work.
"My eyes were stinging and it was really smoky, really black
and really close to the village," she said from a friend's home in
nearby Kona.
Linda Harlow told The Honolulu Advertiser that she had little
warning before the order came.
"We back up to a natural area and it was burning right outside
our home," she said. "People were trying to grab what they could.
We had like five minutes."
The fire was burning out of control Tuesday evening, consuming
more than 25,000 acres along the Kohala Coast on the west side of
the island. The only road connecting the village to the rest of the
island was closed and parents were asked to pick up their children
from school because buses weren't allowed through the area.
Schools outside the town were asked to keep students from
Waikoloa until it was safe for them to return.
Nearly 150 county and federal personnel were working through the
night to battle the blaze, with the help of four helicopters and
eight bulldozers, Nakano said.
The evacuation order came after the Federal Emergency Management
Agency approved a request from Gov. Linda Lingle for a disaster
declaration in the area. The declaration will make federal funding
available to pay part of the state's firefighting costs.
The blaze started Monday as a small brush fire, Battalion Chief
Curtis Matsui said.
Meanwhile, in Washington state, officials said residents of
about 75 homes who had evacuated Monday when a wildfire closed in
would be allowed to return home Wednesday.
However, residents of another 70 homes were under notice that
they might have to evacuate in the area near Lake Wenatchee in
central Washington, where a blaze has burned nearly 1,000 acres. No
injuries have been reported.
Large fires also were active Tuesday in Alaska, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Utah, the
National Interagency Fire Center reported. So far this year,
wildfires have charred 4.7 million acres, compared with 5.5 million
at the same time last year, the center said.
---
On the Net:
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov/

[NJFFSA16]

HONOLULU (AP) - A brush fire on Wednesday burned about 200 to
300 acres of land in Makua Valley, the Army reported.
Training at the Makua Military Reservation wasn't being
conducted at the time the blaze was discovered by Army civilian
workers, officials said. The cause of the fire was under
investigation.
There were no initial reports of injuries or damage to
archaeological sites, endangered species, property or equipment,
the Army said.
Army environmental and cultural staff members will conduct a
survey as soon as it is deemed safe to enter the burned area,
officials said.
The blaze was fought by Army, federal and Honolulu firefighters.
Helicopters from Wheeler Army Air Field were called on to drop
water on the flames.
"We take our responsibility for the environmental and cultural
assets in the Makua Valley very seriously and we responded quickly
with our helicopters to contain the fire," said Maj. Gen. Benjamin
R. Mixon, commander of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) and U.S.
Army, Hawaii.
Two years ago, a massive fire planned by the Army as a
controlled burn went out of control and blackened more than half
the valley.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii (AP) - Nearly 5,000 people ordered to flee
their homes because of a huge brush fire on Hawaii's Big Island
were allowed to return, finding their property dusted with a layer
of ash but otherwise undamaged.
In spite of authorities' reopening the area, Waikoloa Village
appeared all but abandoned Wednesday as National Guard helicopters
joined local firefighters in trying to contain the massive blaze in
its third day.
"This is like a ghost town today," said Kris Kosa-Correia,
principal of Waikoloa Elementary School, where scores of evacuees
found temporary refuge.
The principal checked on her residence Wednesday morning to find
the fire had scorched undergrowth up to 20 feet (six meters) from
her door and left ash inside the condominium.
Fire crews continued trying to contain the blaze, which had
charred more than 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares) along the Kohala
Coast on the west side of the island.
The evacuation order had affected 75 percent of the town's 6,500
residents, said Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency acting
administrator Lanny Nakano. Officials turned a community center and
elementary school into evacuation centers, a resort opened its
ballroom to evacuees and another school offered dorm rooms.
The blaze started Monday as a small brush fire.
Elsewhere on the island, another fire jumped Akoni Pule Highway
and had burned more than 2,000 acres (800 hectares), including a
2-square-mile (5.12-square-kilometer) tract on one side of the
road, and down toward the ocean on the other.
County officials used bulldozers, helicopters and ground crews
to contain the flames. One house had been threatened, but
firefighters were able to cut a fire break around it, Fire Chief
Darryl Oliviera said.
On the mainland, officials in Washington state said residents of
about 75 homes who had evacuated Monday when a wildfire closed in
were allowed to return home Wednesday.
However, the returnees and residents of 70 other homes were
under notice that they might have to evacuate again in the area
near Lake Wenatchee in central Washington. The blaze had charred
nearly 1,000 acres (400 hectares) and was only 20 percent
contained.
Large fires also were active Wednesday in Alaska, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Utah, the
National Interagency Fire Center reported. So far this year,
wildfires have charred 4.7 million acres (1.88 million hectares),
compared with 5.5 million acres ( 2.2 million hectares) at the same
time last year, the center said.
---
On the Net:
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov/

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

HONOLULU (AP) - The only public roadway into and out of the
Waianae Coast was closed for several hours Monday morning as smoke
from a brush fire forced the closure of a section of Farrington
Highway.
The Army helped out by opening Kolekole Pass to civilian traffic
before the highway was reopened shortly before noon.
The blaze that began Sunday in Nanakuli Valley from an arcing
electric transmission line led education officials to close
Nanakuli High and Intermediate School.
About 25 percent of the Honolulu Fire Department's daily
staffing of 300 firefighters responded to the blaze, but steep,
rocky terrain made it hard to reach by ground crews.
"The thing about this fire is a lot of it is in areas that we
cannot actually reach just yet," department spokesman Capt.
Kenison Tejada said.
The Army supplied four helicopters that dropped water on the
flames that covered about 2,000 acres.
"We are committed not only to our partnership with island fire
departments, but also with providing for the safety of our
neighbors on the Waianae Coast," said Army Col. Howard J. Killian,
commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii.
Firefighters were concerned flames might burn into the forested
area of Palehua Ridge.
"If it becomes a forest fire, we're going to need double or
triple the manpower," Tejada said.
No structures were burned, and Tejada said crews were confident
they could keep the flames away from buildings.
No evacuations were ordered, but residents affected by the smoke
were being advised to leave the area, Honolulu Fire Department
spokesman Capt. Emmit Kane said.
Oahu Civil Defense spokesman John Cummings said Camp Timberline
along Palehua Road was closed and eight staff members were forced
to leave the area Sunday night.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[budthespud]

Hawaiian Brushfire Scorches Nankuli Forest Reserve

HONOLULU, Hawaii, August 19, 2005 (ENS) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency Thursday authorized the use of federal funds to help Hawaii fight the Nanakuli Brush Fire burning near the west Oahu communities of Nanakuli and Palehua.

Michael Brown, under secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, said the state’s request for federal fire management assistance was approved after it was confirmed that the fire was threatening 100 homes in Nanakuli and 50 in Palehua, with preparations under way for possible evacuations.

The fire also resulted in the evacuation of the Camp Timberline youth camp, a military solar observatory, the Maunakapu Communications site, as well as the Kahi Power plant and power lines.

The fire, which started on August 14, has burned 2,850 acres and is considered 20 percent contained. This fire is 16 miles west of Honolulu. A power plant, the community of Palehua, and a nature preserve are currently threatened. Steep terrain is limiting access to the fire.

“With this latest wildfire threatening Nanakuli and Palehua, our commitment to the people of Hawaii remains strong,” said Brown. “FEMA will continue to support our state and local partners this wildfire season.”

The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the state’s eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating and controlling designated fires.

The fire has burned native endangered plants, including three of only four native gardenia plants that remain in the wild. They were growing in the Nanakuli Forest Reserve, which burned on Tuesday. The fourth plant is still alive.

The fire is believed to have displaced Hawaiian short-eared owls that have been living in the area.

The burned areas are likely to be overtaken by guinea grass, a common invasive weed that was introduced in the mid-1800s as a failed cattle feed experiment.

So far this year, a record 700 brushfires have charred Oahu, the island where Honolulu is located, but most burned far to the west of the city.

[NJFFSA16]

Firefighters finish off Maui wildfire
MAALAEA, Hawaii (AP) - Firefighters reported they had contained
more than half of a 4,000-acre brush fire in the West Maui
mountains that prompted evacuations and closed down a highway.
Fire crews will continue to mop up hot spots through Tuesday,
said Maui County spokeswoman Ellen Pelissero.
"There's plenty of hot spots, but they are all in the black,"
already-burned areas, said Deputy Fire Chief Neal Bal.
The blaze started on Friday, stranding thousands of motorists
and forcing some into shelters in Kahului and Lahaina. Businesses
and residents were forced to evacuate, but most returned by Sunday.
There were no reports of injuries or structures threatened by
the fire, but two helicopters were diverted from the area of the
fire as a safety precaution, Pelissero said.
Most of the mountainous region is only accessible by helicopter,
complicating firefighting efforts.
Emergency workers used at least seven helicopters over the
weekend to fight the blaze, including one Blackhawk and one Chinook
provided by the Hawaii Air National Guard. They dumped water onto
the flames at the top of the mountain.
Firefighters dug trenches to keep the fire at bay and used water
or foam to suppress the flames, Bal said.
Another brush fire was reported Sunday near a polo field off
Haleakala Highway, and two helicopters were diverted to put out
that blaze before it could get out of hand, Pelissero said.
It was extinguished in about a half an hour.
The fire had periodically shut down Honoapiilani Highway when
the flames were threatening the road, but all roads were reopened
by Monday.
---
Information from: The Maui News, http://www.mauinews.com

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

WAIALUA, Hawaii (AP) - Firefighters on Monday evening were
trying to contain a raging wildfire on Oahu's North Shore that
earlier forced the temporary evacuation of several homes.
The wind-whipped wildfire, which started around 2 p.m. Sunday,
had burned more than 3 square miles and damaged some farm equipment
and power lines. But no injuries were reported and no structures
were damaged.
At one point, at least 20 Honolulu fire companies were being
assisted by federal firefighters.
Hawaiian Electric Co. spokeswoman Janet Crawford said power to
1,130 customers was cut off in the area Sunday evening at the
request of fire officials.
Ocean Time Warner said it was replacing 5,000 feet of burned
fiber optics cable.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig on Monday
said crews were trying to contain the fire near the Poamoho farm
area as well as put out hot spots in Waialua.
The fire started off Kamehameha Highway near the road to
Helemano Military Reservation. It spread westward toward Kaukonahua
Road, forcing the closure of the roadway.
The American Red Cross opened up a shelter Sunday at Waialua
District Park community center but moved it to Whitmore Community
Park after the power went out.
About 25 adults and children were at the Waialua shelter, but no
one showed up at the Whitmore shelter since residents were allowed
back in their homes at about 9:30 p.m.

[NJFFSA16]

Stubborn wildfire continues to burn
HONOLULU (AP) - Crews battling a wildfire on the North Shore
began to get a handle Wednesday on Oahu's largest brush fire of the
year.
The blaze that broke out Sunday was 45 percent contained,
according to Capt. Terry Seelig, a spokesman for the Honolulu Fire
Department.
"The wind is still strong like yesterday, if not a little more
gusty, but we've done good perimeter containment," Seelig said.
"There's still some areas that they're working on and they still
have to concentrate on hot spots, because left unattended those can
flare up and still travel even though there's less fuel for them to
burn."
The blaze that moved onto Schofield Barracks on Tuesday covered
more than 10 square miles.
Smoke and ash from the fire drifted over the Waianae Mountains,
forcing the closure of Waianae High School and Makaha Elementary
School on Wednesday. But the schools were to reopen Thursday, the
Department of Education said.
No injuries were reported and no structures had been burned, but
farmers said their losses will be in the millions of dollars.
"You feel for the farmers, for ranchers. That's their
livelihood. That's what keeps them going," Mayor Mufi Hannemann
said during an inspection tour. "So we obviously are going to have
to help them regroup."
As many as 130 civilian and military firefighters battled the
blaze with the help of five helicopters.
The city and state will be eligible for federal funds to cover
much of the cost of fighting the fire.

[NJFFSA16]

HONOLULU (AP) - Gov. Linda Lingle on Thursday declared a fire
emergency in Hawaii, noting state and city/county firefighters have
battled nine wildfires on four islands covering 18,500 acres since
July 1.
Lingle signed a proclamation as fire crews on Oahu fought three
brush fires, including one in Waialua that has blackened 6,700
acres since it broke out Sunday.
Thursday also saw the start of a wildfire on the Big Island that
led Hawaii County Civil Defense to order the evacuation of 40 homes
in the Kamuela View Estates subdivision in Kohala. Residents were
allowed to return to their homes four hours later.
The proclamation authorizes the use of the Hawaii National Guard
to assist civilian authorities in disaster relief and in averting
imminent public danger.
With the proclamation, the state loan program for farmers was
activated and commercial and personal loans were made available
through a state program.
The Waialua wildfire was declared 80 percent contained Thursday
as flames failed to advance along the perimeter.
"We've got the department's two helicopters as well as three
engine companies and two tankers on the ground this morning
concentrating on flare-ups and hot spots," Honolulu Fire
Department Capt. Frank Johnson said.
Firefighters expected to spend another night at the blaze, he
said.
On the Big Island, county, state and federal firefighters
battled the Kohala blaze that burned about 50 acres.
Troy Kindred, administrator of Hawaii County Civil Defense, said
flames had crept within a quarter mile of the subdivision.
Residents evacuated from their homes could find emergency
shelter at Waimea Community Center.
Meanwhile on Oahu, 11 fire companies were sent to a brush fire
in Waianae, near the site of the former Toledo Dairy. Flames burned
about 10 acres before the fire was declared 90 percent contained.
Firefighters from the Olomana Fire Station were en route to
Waianae to join the effort when they were diverted to douse a small
brush fire behind the Waianae Fire Station.
Meanwhile, another brush fire broke out in Kapolei in a vacant
lot owned by the James Campbell Co. Heavy smoke forced the
temporary closure of a section of Kamokila Boulevard, fire
officials said.