170 acre fire near Mokulele Hwy on Maui, now 100% contained

(Updated August 1 2010 @ 7:20 p.m.)

A large brush fire near the Mokulele Highway on Maui burned a total of 170 acres before being declared 100% contained today. The fire began Saturday morning and came within one mile of the highway, but did not impact traffic.

Crews today were assisted by a water tanker and dozer provided by Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Co., the company that maintains the nearby sugar cane fields.

The Fire Department will continue to monitor the burn area overnight. No injuries are reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

(Posted July 31 2010 @ 5:03 p.m.)

Maui firefighters continue to battle a 140 acre blaze near the Mokulele Highway in Central Maui. The fire was first reported at 10:20 a.m.and is located in an area adjacent to a cane field in Kahului. At around 4:30 p.m., the fire was about one mile away from the Mokulele Highway, but was not impacting traffic.

Fire crews from the Kahului, Wailuku, Kihei, and Waillea stations, as well as the Fire Department’s wildland fire fighting crew responded to the incident. Three helicopters are providing air support to fire crews, and two water tankers and two bulldozers provided by Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Co. are cutting fire breaks.

According to Acting Battalion Chief Kapala Novikoff, helicopters will cease operations at nightfall as a safety measure, but ground crews will remain on scene overnight. There are no injuries reported and the cause is undetermined at this time.

(Posted by Wendy Osher, supporting information courtesy County of Maui)

File image by Wendy Osher.