Wildfire at Hawai‘i Volcanoes 70% contained
COURTESY USGS
National Park Service firefighters in hardhats and yellow and green Nomex walk across fresh hardened lava in Nāpau Crater today.
UPDATE: Noon
Park officials reopened the Maunaulu parking lot and trails this morning.
Firefighting efforts continue. The 78-acre fire smoldering in the remote East Rift Zone of Kilauea volcano, south of Napau Crater, is 70% contained.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
A 78-acre wildfire continues to burn in a remote area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, prompting officials to temporarily close the parking lot at Maunaulu and Napau Trail.
In effect since Tuesday, the areas remain closed to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, due to ongoing efforts to suppress the fire.
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Officials said the Sept. 15 eruption of Kilauea volcano ignited the “Makaopuhi Fire,” and that fire activity increased due to lack of recent rainfall, low humidity and wind.
The remote location and hazardous volcanic terrain have made fire suppression efforts more challenging.
Twenty-two members of the Pacific Islands Fire Management team, including firefighters from Hawaii island and American Samoa, have been building a fire line to control the fire’s perimeter, with support from helicopter water drops.
An area near the Maunaulu parking lot has become a staging area, helispot and temporary dip site.
As of this morning, the fire remained at 78 acres and was about 70% contained.
The fire does not have a continuous, flaming front, but continues to burn pockets of uluhe fern and other vegetation dried by recent volcanic activity.
It poses no threat to homes at this time, officials said, but imperils Hawaiian ecosystems and rare plants in the area.
