Maui wildfire appears contained

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

Firefighters continued to fight a blaze in the remote and rugged Kahikinui area yesterday with helicopters dropping water, bulldozers cutting fire lines and ground forces working the perimeter.

Officials estimated that the fire had blackened about half of a 5,000-acre area. Although winds were pushing flames northwest toward the Kahikinui State Forest Reserve, remnant koa forests, endangered species and archeological sites, the perimeter hadn't grown since yesterday.

"The county did a terrific job of keeping a box around the fire," said Mark Tanaka-Sanders, acting chief ranger at Haleakala National Park.

As of yesterday evening, the lower boundary of the fire ran along Pi'ilani Highway about a half mile west of Manawainui Gulch to the Luala'ilua Hills.

The upper boundary reached as high as the 4,200-foot elevation.

There were no immediate threats to any structures, officials said.

Three helicopters worked the fire yesterday, along with two Maui fire crews and a 15-person state forestry fire crew that was hiking the western boundary of the fire to put out hot spots with hand tools.

The fire started Sunday afternoon and was thought to be extinguished by early Monday after county firefighters worked through the night. But wind rekindled the flames, and fire crews returned to the area later in the day.

Tanaka-Sanders and other National Park Service officials were monitoring the fire yesterday in case it approached the boundaries of Haleakala National Park. But the blaze remained about 4,000 feet below the park.