Volcanoes park fire contained

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

The month-long Kupu-kupu fire in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park has been contained, and the famed Chain of Craters will reopen 24 hours a day tonight, allowing Big Island visitors once again to hike to flowing lava in the park, officials said yesterday.

The road was closed June 1 because of smoke and dangerous conditions caused by the Kupukupu fire, which has burned 3,660 acres since May 16.

The fire was started by a lava flow from the long-running Kilauea eruption, blackening acreage in the Holei Pali area above the Kalapana coast.

Park Ranger Mardie Lane said the fire was contained by firefighters, including "hot shot" fire crews from the Mainland, who have cut a control line by hand around more than 10 miles of the burn's perimeter.

Fire mop-up operations will continue at least through Thursday, as park firefighters continue to cut and weed-whack a hand line through tall tangles of uluhe fern, and helicopters douse hot spots on the burn's perimeter with water bucket drops.

Beginning this morning, firefighting operations will be staged from the Mauna Ulu parking lot, which will remain closed until fire suppression activities are complete, Lane said.

Containment of the fire will reopen one of Hawai'i's most spectacular visitor attractions, the tricky one-mile hike over a 1995 lava flow to a spot where viewers may see hot lava flowing.

"The trail is rough, and there are earth cracks and loose rocks," Lane said. "Those who take the hike should watch their steps, wear sturdy, closed shoes and long pants, and carry a jacket and water.

"And (each person) hiking the trail after 5 p.m. should bring a reliable flashlight with fresh batteries," she said.

All of the hotshot crews will be pulled off the fire lines by tomorrow, she said.

The Dalton Hotshot fire crew returned to California Thursday, and the Prescott Hotshots flew home to Arizona Saturday. The Arrowhead team from Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park in California will return home today and the Pleasant Valley Hotshots are due to fly back to Arizona tomorrow.

The fire was 65 percent contained June 10, when Chain of Craters Road was reopened on a limited basis between 6 p.m. and midnight.

Eighty Mainland firefighters with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service worked the fire lines with park personnel and emergency hires from Hawai'i, and two Army Blackhawk helicopters from the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks assisted five charter helicopters with water drops.

Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8054.