Unscheduled Cane Fire Burns 1 Acre in Pāʻia

Photo by Wendy Osher.

A brush fire in a sugar cane field near Baldwin Beach Park in Pāʻia burned an acre of cane before being brought under control on Wednesday.

Firefighters responded to a report of smoke seen in the brush area east of Baldwin Park at around 10:55 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015.

Pāʻia firefighters arrived at 11 a.m. and found a quarter acre of sugar cane burning on the makai side of Hāna Highway, near the Pāʻia Rinzai Zen Mission, fire officials said.

Maui Fire Services Officer, Edward Taomoto said an engine company and water tanker from Kahului assisted the Pāʻia crew in keeping the fire from spreading towards the nearby church.

According to FSO Taomoto, firefighters got control of the fire at 12:08 p.m. and eventually handed over extinguishing operations to Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar personnel at about 1 p.m., with about one acre of cane scorched.

HC&S representatives later confirmed the fire to be an unscheduled cane fire.

Fire officials note that the fire occurred in an area heavily used for homeless encampments; but say the exact cause of the blaze was undetermined.

There was no damage to structures and no injuries were reported.