Brush fire near Maalaea Harbor forces brief closure of Honoapiilani Highway
UPDATE: 2:45 p.m.
The Maui Police Department opened Honoapiilani Highway from the scenic lookout to North Kihei Road in both directions at 2:05 p.m. today, according to MEMA.
”Traffic is slow moving,” according to news release from MEMA.
2 p.m.
A brush fire near Maalaea Harbor closed Honoapiilani Highway at about 1:15 p.m. today and “residents and businesses” in the area should prepare to evacuate if notified by county officials, according to a news release from the Maui Emergency Management Agency.
“There is a wildfire north of Maalaea Harbor on Maui. Hawaiian Electric is monitoring the situation and may shut down power as necessary,” read a statement from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.
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The Maui Police Department is on scene managing road closures and smoke is impacting “visibility and water drop operations.”
RELATED STORY: Red flag warning covers leeward areas of all Hawaiian islands on Friday
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The Hawaiian Electric Co. is monitoring weather conditions across the leeward areas of the islands after the National Weather Service issued a warning about possible red flag conditions Friday.
“Confidence is high that marginal Red Flag conditions will exist on Friday with lower confidence in conditions extending into Saturday,” read a statement from the National Weather Service at 8:59 a.m. today. “Windy trades will persist during this time with the limiting factor being (relative humidity) values across the state. However, a narrow ribbon of dry air will advance over the area this afternoon through Saturday leading to falling dew points, especially during Friday afternoon. (Relative humidity) values will at least be in the neighborhood of criteria (< 45%) and the existing Fire Weather Watch remains in good shape.”
NWS said a “broad band of moisture” will move in during the second half of Saturday which will “eventually alleviate fire weather concerns.”
If necessary, Hawaiian Electric may implement its “Public Safety Power Shutoff program within the next 24 hours” and proactively shut off power in communities with high exposure to wildfire risk.
“Customers in these areas are urged to review their own emergency plans and prepare for the possibility of extended power outages. Outages that may be caused by current weather conditions are not related to the company’s PSPS program,” read a news release from the utility.
>> For more information and maps of areas that have high wildfire risk, call Hawaiian Electric’s PSPS hotline at 1-844-483-8666 toll-free or go to hawaiianelectric.com/PSPS.
