Haleakala brush fire
threatens koa forest
WAILUKU >> State, county and federal workers today planned to resume their fight against a brush fire that has burned an estimated 5,000 acres on the leeward slopes of Haleakala on Maui and was moving toward a native koa forest.
Deputy Chief Alan Cordeiro said the fire at Kahikinui had worked its way up the mountain from Mile Post 26 along the main road at the 150-foot elevation to the 4,000-foot level.
Cordeiro said the brush land belonged to the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, but the fire did not threaten any homesteaders.
Because of the remote location, water to fight the blaze was being brought in by helicopters and fire truck tankers. Also joining the county in fighting the fire were state conservation workers, rangers from Haleakala National Park, and workers from Goodfellow Bros. Inc. construction company and Ulupalakua Ranch.
Cordeiro said that as of yesterday afternoon, no one had been injured in the firefighting.
Haleakala National Park chief ranger Mark Tanaka-Sanders said the wind was blowing at 30 mph yesterday afternoon and fighting the blaze would have been too dangerous last night. He said firefighters hope to extinguish the blaze today before it reaches the 5,000-foot level and a native koa forest.
Tanaka-Sanders said they hope to have the fire under control before 9 a.m., when the wind usually picks up.
He said the fire was first reported Sunday afternoon and had burned a couple of dozen acres before the county was notified. Cordeiro said the cause of the fire remained undetermined.