Wai'anae fire raises concern for flora

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

State forestry and wildlife officials are worried that rare native plants may have been killed in a wildfire that burned more than 1,500 acres in Wai'anae this week. They are also concerned that wildfires could cause further destruction before summer is over.

"We're asking that people be cautious, and that if they see any suspicious behavior, they notify the authorities," said Pat Costales, O'ahu branch manager for the state's division of forestry and wildlife.

The fire threatened homes and licked at the highland areas containing the highest populations of protected native plants. Although most of the forest preserve area was spared, state botanist Vickie Caraway said yesterday that she was afraid colonies of endangered plants living along the edges of the forest may have been burned.

About seven threatened species grow in the area, including Abutilon sandwicense, a shrub that grows only in the Wai'anae Mountains and whose population consists of only about 100 plants, and ma'aloa, a woody shrub that has been reduced to only 80 plants in the wild.

Other threatened plants that may have been affected include 'akoko, aupaka, nehe, 'oha and kulu'i. Two endangered birds, the Hawaiian owl and the O'ahu 'elepaio, also were last spotted in the area of the burn.

Caraway said scientists will need to canvass the area once the fire threat is lessened to see which plants survived.

If burned, the plants will not grow back, she said. Guinea grass, an introduced species brought to the islands in the mid-1800s — most likely as a failed experiment at developing a food source for grazing cattle — will grow faster and push out native seedlings, she said.

Guinea grass reaches heights of up to 7 feet and grew rapidly during the wet winter, Caraway said. It has dried in the arid leeward summer, and now makes an excellent fuel for brushfires.

Costales, whose staff helps to fight fires as they infringe upon state forest land, and Fire Department Capt. Richard Soo said the fire that burned through Wai'anae Valley on Wednesday and Thursday appears to have been intentionally set.

A few hot spots in the center of the burned area continue to smolder, and firefighters were back at the sight yesterday to extinguish a flare-up, Soo said.

Costales said smaller fires burned in the same area of Wai'anae Valley in the summer of 2000 and fall of 2001, and those fires were also thought to have been the result of malicious or irresponsible behavior.

In addition to keeping an eye out for fire, smoke and people behaving suspiciously, fire officials asked that homeowners in the area be particularly careful about keeping the areas around their homes clear of overgrowth and other fire hazards, and be careful to allow proper clearance for emergency vehicles.