Fire threatens Big Island forest
By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer
Firefighters struggled yesterday to control a 2,000-acre wildland blaze in Volcanoes National Park.
National Park Service
The second major fire in the park in less than a year threatens 14,000 acres of rain forest spared in June when more than 3,000 acres were consumed in flames, fueled by highly flammable alien plant species that have infiltrated the indigenous o'hi'a and fern.
A lava-generated fire at Volcanoes National Park is threatening 14,000 acres of forest, including hapu'u and 'ohi'a, in an area spared by a major blaze last summer. Winds eased yesterday, allowing helicopters to drop water.
The June fire and current blaze are the first major fires of their kind within the boundaries of the park since it was established in 1916 to protect native species and interpret volcanic activity for visitors, according to Jack Minassian, park fire management officer.
Winds that had reached 50 mph dropped to half that yesterday, allowing helicopters to drop water on the flames.
Ground crews still could not approach the two prongs of fire that nearly reached the coastal flat west of the Kilauea lava flow field, sending choking smoke across a narrow stretch of Chain of Craters Road near Holei Sea Arch.
The fire has denied visitors close access to the spectacular lava flow. The road remains closed on a day-to-day basis. Park Ranger Mardie Lane said visitors should check with park headquarters about access to the flow.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the ever-widening flow field continued to encroach on forest and grassland, with surface lava visible in a mile-plus stream from the top of Pulama pali.
National Park Service
High winds and low humidity on Monday conspired with the spreading lava to ignite a fire that could not be controlled, Lane said. "At times, the human takes a step back and nature rules, and yesterday was one of those times," she said.
A National Park Service photo shows the charred evidence of lava flow in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
Despite those conditions, the park has managed to keep the new blaze out of native forest of 'ohi'a, hapu'u ferns and maile vines.
The fires are being fueled by invasive, flammable plant species such as alien grasses and scaly swordfern, Lane said.
The entire Hawai'i volcano ecosystem is at risk, she said, because the native plants support such rare birds as the apapane and amakihi Hawaiian honeycreepers, as well as Hawai'i's two native butterflies.
Lane said the park would attempt to reseed burned areas with native vegetation.
A 10-person fire management team from the Mainland accustomed to working on large forest fires will take control of the effort and cleanup, Minassian said. Another 40 federal firefighters are due today to replace an equal number returning to the Mainland. Twenty park firefighters also are battling the blaze.
Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8054.
