Crews Douse Minor Flare Up From the Māʻalaea Brush Fire

Māʻalaea fire. Sunday photos July 3, 2016. Photos courtesy: County of Maui, Ryan Piros.

At 12:11 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016, Maui firefighters responded to a flare up from the Māʻalaea brush fire that occurred on July 2, of this year. The flare up was at the 2,100 foot elevation on the West Maui Mountains.

A caller reported seeing smoke high up on the West Maui hillside, above the Honoapiʻilani Highway and North Kīhei Road intersection. The smoke was coming from a burned area next to a deep gulch on the northern edge of the recent Māʻalaea fire.

Wailuku firefighters arrived at 12:24 p.m. and confirmed that there was smoke on the mountain. Air 1 was dispatched to make water drops while the Wailuku crew mopped up the 100 x 100 foot area of smoldering tree stumps and underground root systems from the trees. Some of the remaining tree stumps were actively burning when crews got there by All-Terrain vehicle.

The flare up was called extinguished at 3:15 p.m.