Fire Burns Two Acres Brush at Pa‘uwela Lighthouse

Maui firefighters responded to a brush fire that burned an estimated two acres of brush in former pineapple fields near the Paʻuwela Lighthouse in Haʻikū at around 3:48 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31, 2017.

Paʻuwela brush fire (5.31.17) PC: Maui Fire Department.

A Pāʻia fire crew arrived on scene at 3:54 p.m. and found a half-acre of heavy brush on fire almost a mile makai of the Hāna Highway.

Maui Fire Services Chief Edward Taomoto said strong tradewinds and the thick brush made it difficult for crews to get a handle on the blaze.

Crews aboard the department’s Air-1 helicopter assisted ground crews with water drops before firefighters brought the blaze under control at 5:05 p.m.

The fire was extinguished when firefighters left the scene at 8 p.m. Wednesday night, but department officials opted to wait until the morning to call it officially extinguished.

Pāʻia firefighters were back early Thursday morning patrolling the fire area, but did not find any hotspots.

The fire was called extinguished at 6 a.m Thursday morning. The cause of the fire was undetermined. There were no injuries reported, and no structures were threatened.

A Makawao engine company and water tankers from Kahului and Wailea also responded to the incident.