DIANA LEONE / DLEONE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Leandra, a Hawaiian cultural practitioner from Makaha, pointed out features of the Kumu Akuopio petroglyph in Makua Valley yesterday. Army firefighters were able to wet down the stone, protecting it from destruction in an out-of-control fire Tuesday and Wednesday in the valley.
Makua fire
draws group’s ireThe Army expects by next
week to have a report on how
valley wildlife was affected
Members of Malama Makua were glad to visit Makua Valley yesterday, but angry that an out-of-control fire burned over 2,000 acres there this week.
"The destruction that's happened here is really inexcusable," said Maralyn Kurshals, a member of the Waianae Neighborhood Board. "I'm here to bear witness to that."
Kurshals stood in a circle yesterday morning in the blackened Waianae Coast valley with about 20 Malama Makua visitors and almost as many Army-affiliated guides.
"I feel like we've been betrayed by the Army. I'm really angry," said Sparky Rodrigues, a Malama Makua board member.
Some called for the Army to quit training in the valley. But Col. David Anderson, commander of the U.S. Army Garrison in Hawaii, said later that's not going to happen.
"Makua Valley is important to the Army here in Hawaii so we can continue to train our soldiers so we have trained and ready forces," Anderson said.
Anderson acknowledged, however, that he's not sure what steps the Army may have to take to resume training in the valley. Training was halted from 1998 to 2001 by a Malama Makua lawsuit, but resumed when the Army agreed to terms that included cultural visits to the valley twice a month and a detailed fire management plan.
Malama Makua member Vince Dodge said he hopes the Army now will consider controlled burns on much smaller areas at a time, followed by planting native grasses.
Anderson said he expects to have an analysis by next weekend of how the fire got out of control and a report on how many threatened and endangered plants and animals were burned.
That information will be shared at a public meeting on the Waianae Coast. The time and place of the meeting will be announced tomorrow, said Army spokeswoman Capt. Stacy Bathrick.
During Malama Makua's visit yesterday, members checked on the survival rate of some native plants in the lower-elevation burned zone and the Kumu Akuopio petroglyph.
Laurie Lucking, an Army cultural program specialist, said she was observing the controlled burn from a fire tower Tuesday when she saw flames "leaping" from ridge to ridge. She also saw one civilian employee spraying water onto the petroglyph stone, which probably cooled it enough to keep it from being damaged by heat.
"Whoever did this did a good job," Lucking said as she examined the carved rock yesterday.
Endangered Oahu tree snails probably were spared, because the fire didn't reach the high elevations where they live, Anderson said.
But the fate of five or more Oahu 'elepaio forest birds whose territories appear to have burned is unknown.
The Army must consult with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service about potential damages to protected species, including 41 threatened and endangered plants in the valley.
Holding a handkerchief to her nose to block the stench of the burned grass, Kurshals said she wonders what pollutants were released into the air, land and water from the burn.
"They've got a lot to answer for," Malama Makua board member Fred Dodge said. "But I think a little progress was made today."
