Burnt Vehicle Found Near Center of Pā‘ia Brush Fire

Firefighters responded to a brush fire in a fallow sugar cane field about a half-mile south of Baldwin Avenue, near the old Pāʻia Sugar Mill on Wednesday night.

The incident was reported at around 7:24 p.m. on Wednesday, July 26, 2017, and crews from Pāʻia were on scene at 7:29 p.m.

Responding firefighters reported seeing smoke coming from deep within a former sugar cane field.

Fire officials say crews had difficulty finding a route to the fire because of overgrown brush limiting vehicle access, but were able to reach the fire and contained it to about three acres.

There were no injuries and no structures were threatened.

A burnt vehicle was found near the center of the scorched brush, but fire officials say it’s unclear whether the vehicle was involved in the starting of the fire.

The fire was fully contained when firefighters left the scene at about 2 a.m.

Crews will be patrolling the fire area throughout today to search for any hot spots that may have gone undetected.

A battalion chief, engine companies from Pāʻia, Makawao, and water tankers from Kahului, and Wailea responded to the fire.