‘It’s triggering’: Kula residents keep a wary eye on Crater Road fire amid memories of last year’s blaze

When Kula resident Megan Leake heard about the 400-acre brush fire burning on the slopes of Haleakalā, all the emotions that followed last year’s wildfires welled up again. 

“This morning I cried, because we had it so hard here,” Leake said Thursday afternoon via phone from Kula Lodge, where she’s the assistant general manager. “We didn’t have water for months. … So it was just like, oh my God, don’t let this happen again.” 

The Aug. 8 wildfires that burned more than 1,000 acres and destroyed 19 homes Upcountry were on the mind of many Kula residents and businesses as they cautiously tracked a large brush fire that began Wednesday evening near Crater Road and had burned about 420 acres by Thursday afternoon.  

Maui County said the fire near the 7,000-foot elevation level of Haleakalā was 25 percent contained as of 3 p.m. and that forward progress had been stopped, with dozers cutting control lines around most of the perimeter. No injuries or structural damages have been reported. About 150 to 200 cars that were stranded above the Crater Road closure between Mile Markers 8 and 10 on Wednesday night were ushered out safely, the county said.  

Evacuation orders have not been issued, but the Maui Emergency Management Agency encouraged residents above Kekaulike and Haleakalā highways between Upper Kimo and Waipoli roads to prepare for potential evacuation and monitor radio, TV and mobile devices for official information. 

“We need the community to remain vigilant because fire behavior changes,” Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said during a news conference on Thursday afternoon. “Can mean that the fire’s gonna change direction on us, change its speed and rate of growth. So we need everybody to just be vigilant and paying attention to the notifications that were mentioned so that if we need to notify you to evacuate then you’re aware.”

Leake, who didn’t lose her home in Kula but had to evacuate during the fire last year, said she could see the smoke from the Crater Road fire but couldn’t smell it, which she hoped was a good sign that it was moving away from Kula Lodge and nearby homes. 

She said the lodge remained open but was “very slow” earlier in the day. Their morning business is typically from the crowds that flock to the summit of Haleakalā for sunrise, but the national park was closed due to the fire. Leake said the lodge has been keeping in contact with firefighters and fed them some burgers for lunch. 

Kula Lodge has an emergency preparedness plan as well as generators in case power goes out, and Leake said many staff live close by and could monitor the situation if they needed to evacuate. 

“We’re going to stay open and we’ll just play it by ear,” Leake said. “I live a mile away and I remember the fire from last year. We all went through that together. We’re a little bit traumatized but we’re like, we’ll just keep on going.”

Michelle James, an animal care provider at The Ohana Animal Inn, also said the fire stirs up memories of last year. 

“It’s triggering,” James said via phone on Thursday afternoon. “It’s distressing to all of us, even if it’s not coming right in our nearest vicinity, it’s still triggering, as it would be for anybody, either in Lahaina or Kula, that went through what we went through last year.”  

The one-year anniversary of the Aug. 8 wildfires that devastated both the Upcountry and West Maui communities, costing the lives of at least 102 people in Lahaina and burning down thousands of structures, is barely a month away.

The Ohana Animal Inn was spared in the Aug. 8 wildfires but evacuated for a night out of an abundance of caution. Located on Kekaulike Avenue several miles down from the Crater Road fire, the pet boarding facility had about 40 to 45 dogs, cats, rabbits and birds in its care as of Thursday. 

James said when she first got into work, she could smell a little smoke and saw some ash, as well as helicopters heading up to fight the fire. But so far, they hadn’t been affected. 

“We are keeping a very close eye on the situation as we have many animals that are in our care and we do have an evacuation plan if needed,” James said. “But right now the status is it’s well above us and it is not impacting us at this point.”

At Kula Botanical Garden, which is also located along Kekaulike Avenue, cashier Caro Walker also said they were keeping an eye on the emergency alerts but couldn’t see or smell the fire. She noted conditions were “cloudy and overcast” and hoped some rain could dampen the blaze. 

“It’s actually been fairly busy up here. I guess because everybody’s being turned away from the crater,” Walker said Thursday afternoon. “We have given everyone who comes in a warning that there is a fire on the mountain.”

Walker has friends who were impacted by last year’s Upcountry fires, and she said everyone she’s talked to has emergency “go bags” at the ready. 

“Everyone’s watching everything really closely. So far everyone I’ve talked to said that they’re prepped,” Walker said. “It’s frightening, you know? It’s not easy, especially with the anniversary coming up. … I think it makes everyone more cautionary.”