Firefighters on Oahu continue to battle a large wildfire above Mililani Mauka that was 85% contained Sunday, and knocked downed five other brush fires and a building fire on a “red flag” weather day that put the state on edge in the aftermath of the deadly Lahaina inferno.
The worst of Sunday’s fires remained the wildland blaze in remote, mountainous terrain a few miles from Mililani Mauka, which began around dawn Oct. 30 and has burned for seven days.
In its earliest days the fast-spreading fire sent smoke billowing from the hills above Mililani Mauka and rained down ash on cars and houses in the community.
Honolulu Fire Department officials reported Sunday that the fire had burned about 1,350 acres and continued to burn in steep, dangerous terrain about 4 miles from Mililani Mauka homes.
The National Weather Service’s red-flag warning, which was forecast to run through 6 p.m. today, remains in effect for the leeward areas of Molokai, Maui, Lanai and the Big Island. On Oahu the warning is in effect for the central and leeward areas. The warning for Kauai and Niihau was canceled Sunday night. A red-flag warning is issued when high winds, dry conditions and low humidity combine to increase the risk of wildfires. Maui, and much of the state, was under a red-flag warning Aug. 8 when Lahaina burned.
Officials were concerned Sunday about a high-wind advisory in effect for the eastern islands, with winds strengthening statewide overnight and gusts of up to 50 mph possible through today, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
The state’s Emergency Operations Center was partially activated Sunday to respond to red-flag warning conditions.
“With drought conditions in place statewide, we’re one bad spark away from a new wildfire, so we and our partners are on alert,” HI-EMA Administrator James Barros said in a statement.”The first responders and the counties are the front line of defense and we’re here to support them if they need it.”
Gov. Josh Green met Sunday with representatives of HI-EMA, the county emergency management agencies, the National Weather Service, the Hawaii National Guard and other agencies. HI-EMA coordinated additional military fire-suppression aircraft to help fight the Mililani Mauka fire. Officials also discussed resource deployment and made contingency plans in case conditions worsened.
“The people of Hawaii have seen how quickly a wildfire can spread and the devastation it can bring — Maui is still coping with the consequences,” Barros said. “We want to assure everyone that we are keeping close watch, but we need your help to reduce risk.”
Response to the threat of fire across the state has been heightened since the Aug. 8 wildfire in Lahaina, which was the deadliest fire in the U.S. in more than 100 years when it killed at least 99 people.
Mandatory no-burn periods for all of Maui and for Kau on Hawaii island were issued Sunday.
The state Department of Education said it has closed the four public schools in Lahaina today “out of an abundance of caution due to the red flag warning in effect for all leeward areas of the Hawaiian Islands.”
Officials said King Kamehameha Elementary, Princess Nahienaena Elementary, Lahaina Intermediate and Lahainaluna High are closed to students and staff. The DOE said the schools have emergency preparedness plans in place, and the department will work closely with state and county emergency officials to monitor the situation.
The Maui Fire Department responded Sunday to a wildfire on Molokai that burned about an acre along Maunaloa Highway near Kaluakoi Road. The fire, which began at 4:25 p.m. amid 15 to 20 mph tradewinds, was contained by 5:37 p.m. after engine companies from Kaunakakai and Hoolehua and a tanker responded.
HFD emergency responders also battled fires outside Mililani Mauka on Sunday.
They received a report of a wildfire near 62-449 Kamehameha Highway at 7:37 p.m. Sunday and assigned trucks to respond to the incident, which was under control at 8:01 p.m.
They responded to another wildfire near 47-435 Waihee Road in Kaneohe at 11:56 a.m. Sunday and declared the incident closed at 6:05 p.m.
A wildfire near 65-1001 Kaukonahua Road in Wahiawa started before 10:45 a.m. but was quickly doused, and a morning brush fire near Farrington Highway in Waianae took about two hours to extinguish.
A wildfire near 66-434 Kamehameha Highway in Haleiwa, which caused traffic and power disruptions, was under control at 2:21 p.m.
HFD also responded at 3:42 a.m. to a small building fire at 98-1214 Kaahumanu St. in Pearl City.
HFD Fire Capt. Malcolm K. Medrano said the smaller fires were unrelated to the Mililani Mauka incident; however, wind made firefighting conditions challenging.
“The Haleiwa one was only 2 acres in size, so a relatively small fire. But with the winds that we had today, it wasn’t our typical 2-acre fire because we had to make sure that we pre-positioned resources so that we could stay ahead and anticipate where it would be headed so that we could get ahead of it.”
Medrano said HFD prepared for the red-flag warning by having the National Guard and the Army handle the Mililani Mauka fire as well as Air 1 and Air 2, so that air assets could be rerouted as they were Sunday to respond to multiple fires as well as a hiker rescue.
“Air assets were going between three fires at one point,” he said. “We‘re fortunate that we have that support and bigger helicopters, too.”
Most of the energy on Sunday, however, was spent fighting the large ongoing Mililani Mauka blaze, which enters its eighth day today.
Firefighters kept the fire from spreading in acreage Sunday, and said water drops were successful with ground crews also making substantial progress building a preventive fire line.
So far, no structures or homes have been threatened, and no evacuations have been ordered.
Firefighters suspended operations at sundown Sunday, and the drone team began an overnight fire watch. HFD said an air reconnaissance is planned for 7 a.m. today.
Dean Hazama, chair of the Mililani Mauka-Launani Valley Neighborhood Board, praised the response by HFD and other first responders.
“The response was excellent. They’ve done their best to get to this fire, which is in a very remote area,” Hazama said.
He said for the first few days the biggest concern for residents of the Mililani Mauka neighborhood was the fire’s proximity as well as the accompanying smoke and the ash that fell on parked cars.
“The fire has spread more to the east. When it first moved away, it helped us worry about it a little less. We knew firefighters were keeping an eye on it at all times, and we could hear them flying drops,” Hazama said. “Concerns picked up with the wind, but it doesn’t seem to be moving toward us.”
Hazama said takeaways from Maui need to be applied to the brush fire above Mililani Mauka and others across the state.
“Whether the landowner is county, state or private, Maui taught us to be responsible about maintaining brush areas,” he said.
Hazama said he found it unusual that the Mililani Mauka fire is burning in a remote area that is difficult to traverse, and that gets enough rain to keep it lush and green. He said he hopes that the federal government will investigate the cause of large fire.
“It’s kind of interesting that a fire would start in a place like that,” he said.
Hazama said the fire also has brought into focus the difficulty of evacuating Mililani Mauka, which is one-way in and one-way out. “If we had to evacuate, the congestion would be incredible,” he said.
About five years ago, Hazama said, there was talk of creating an emergency access road by Mililani Mauka District Park that would connect to the H-2 freeway.
“This is a good reminder to try and pursue that again,” he said, adding that similar solutions already have been utilized for Waianae.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
To reduce the risk of wildfires and their impacts, emergency responders are asking Hawaii residents to comply with the following tips:
>> Avoid outdoor burning or any activity that causes embers or sparks. That can include use of power tools or dragging chains from a trailer or other moving vehicle.
>> Do not throw cigarette butts from vehicles.
>> Do not park on vegetation — a vehicle exhaust system can be hot enough to ignite it.
>> Remove dry brush from around structures.
>> Clear debris from gutters, where an ember could land.
>> Make and practice a family evacuation plan, and have an emergency supply kit assembled and ready to go.
>> Call the state Department of Health’s Clean Air Branch at 808-586-4417 for questions about air quality.
>> Anyone who is affected by smoke should shelter in place or in a place with air conditioning. Those having difficulty breathing are advised to call 911 for immediate assistance.
>> For more information on wildfire safety, visit the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization at hawaiiwildfire.org.
