UPDATE: 9:40 p.m.
The Mililani fire, which has been named the Kipapa Ballroom Fire, has grown to 260 acres, according to the state Division of Forestry and Wildife. Officials say the fire remains 35% contained.
8:45 p.m.
The Honolulu Fire Department recommends that anyone who is affected by the smoke should shelter in place or somewhere with air conditioning.
Anyone experiencing difficulty breathing should call 911 immediately, HFD said.
7 p.m.
The fire has more than doubled in size in three hours. As of 6 p.m., the fire had grown to 160 acres and is 35% contained.
The Honolulu Fire Department said the main portion of the fire is moving east on the ridge above Waikakalaua Stream.
HFD will use a drone starting at 8 p.m. to conduct a fire watch. It will perform an air reconnaissance at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
City officials said at 7 p.m. that “no structures or homes are threatened at this time. No evacuations have been ordered at this time.”
4 p.m.
The Honolulu Fire Department continues battling the wildland fire that broke out this morning in Mililani Mauka.
As of 3 p.m. today, the HFD incident commander estimated the fire to be about 60 acres, and about 40% contained.
Due to its location in a remote, mountainous area, HFD ground units are unable to access the wildfire, and are attacking it from the air, with help from the U.S. Army and Hawaii Department of Land Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Urban Wildlife.
The fire is on land belonging to the city and state as a cooperative, which borders property belonging to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Since early this morning, two HFD helicopters, two U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters, and a DOFAW helicopter have made multiple water drops on the fire. The U.S. Army also deployed a CH-47 Chinook aircraft, which can carry up to 2,000 gallons of water.
Meanwhile, DOFAW is inserting ground personnel to conduct reconnaissance and secure a perimeter.
Winds remain light, HFD said, which will help efforts to further contain the wildland fire.
EARLIER TODAY
The Honolulu Fire Department is getting assistance from the U.S. Army and the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife to fight a wildland fire from the air in a mountainous area of Mililani Mauka.
The fire covers about one square mile, and is slowly moving eastward and away from the residential area of Mililani Mauka.
No homes or structures are being threatened and no evacuations have been ordered, but HFD has been receiving numerous calls from the public.
There is a lychee farm about a mile away from the fire, HFD Assistant Chief Kevin Mokulehua said.
At an early afternoon press conference, Mokulehua said the Army is providing two U.S. Army Blackhawks with a Chinook on the way, each able to make 2,000-gallon water drops.
HFD’s two helicopters, Air 1 and Air 2, along with a DOFAW helicopter are making water drops with their 100-gallon buckets.
Mokulehua said the location makes it difficult to get personnel on the ground, and makes it difficult to fight.
He said there is “heavy wildland foliage, so the fire could be deep.”
But the foliage is “on the greener side,” and winds were light, blowing 5 to 15 mph.
The Honolulu Fire Department says it received a 911 call for the fire at 5:51 a.m. Ten units with about 30 personnel initially responded, with the first unit arriving on the scene at 6:12 a.m.
After the incident commander determined the fire to be in a remote, mountainous area, most units were released.
HFD says it has three units on the scene actively responding and monitoring the fire.
Ash is intermittently falling on the Mililani Mauka area, according to Army Garrison Hawaii, and local residents at Wheeler Army Airfield and Schofield Barracks may experience ash falling, as well, and smell smoke.
On-base child development centers are keeping kids indoors due to the smoke and ash.