Makua fire heats debate
| • | Map: Makua fire spreads beyond planned area |
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
An intentionally set brushfire that grew out of control in the Makua Military Reservation has heightened tensions between the Army and Leeward Coast residents who have long opposed military use of the area.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
The Army had planned to burn only about 900 acres — all of that inside firebreak roads — to make it easier to remove unexploded ordnance and find ancient Hawaiian cultural sites in and around its live-ammunition training area.
Even military-helicopter water drops could not immediately contain the runaway fire in Makua Valley.
But by late yesterday afternoon, the so-called "controlled burn" had scorched about 2,500 acres within the reservation and 10 acres near Makua Beach.
Army officials set the fire at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday and said it burned according to plan until 2:30 p.m. when the winds shifted dramatically. It then burned out of control for nearly 24 hours, sweeping out in all directions. It crossed over ridges and jumped Farrington Highway in two places Tuesday, burning close to the beach.
"The wind direction changed completely and increased by 30 mph," said Col. Dave Anderson, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, earlier in the day. "The fire just took off on us and we are not able to get it under control."
It was 90 percent contained by last night, however, and Anderson was optimistic that the worst was over.
"We are doing mop-up operations and working on the hot spots," he said.
Members of the community were angry yesterday, noting that more than 270 fires in the past 13 years were sparked by live ammunition that wreaked havoc on the environment. Military use of the area has been the source of contentious debate between the Army and the community, prompting several lawsuits.
After errant munitions started several fires in 1998, the Army voluntarily suspended training in the area so a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study could be done on the effects of training.
During that period, community activists sued the Army, complaining that it had polluted the area and damaged historic artifacts.
When the two sides reached an agreement on the resumption of training in 2001 — shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks — there were promises that the environment could be protected.
Photo courtesy U.S. Army
"This is like a bad case of deja vu," said Fred Dodge, a Wai'anae physician and a member of Malama Makua, a group of activists seeking the return of the valley to civilian control.
Fire not only burned about 2,500 acres in the valley, but charred 10 acres near Makua Beach.
"Those endangered plants are wiped out now," he said. "Those snails are gone. I have followed this since I came here in 1961 and this is the worst fire by far."
Like Dodge, many residents compared yesterday's fire to one begun under similar circumstances in 1995. That fire burned more than 1,500 acres of Makua Valley.
"It was foolish to think they could control a fire in the middle of July in a drought in the middle of the afternoon," said Wai'anae resident William Aila Jr. "The people who saw it are disgusted and sad, and some of them are in a state of disbelief that this could happen again."
Some of the Leeward Coast's endangered and threatened plants and animals, including the O'ahu 'elepaio bird, may have been victims of the fire.
"What we do know is the fire had burned areas where the endangered and threatened species occur but until it is out, we can't go out there to see if they survived the fire," said Gina Shultz, an assistant field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Before the fire, the Army consulted with fish and wildlife officials before approving the plan, Shultz said.
The Army said last week that it had considered the area's drought conditions and decided that "the timing is ideal" because burns are more successful in dry weather.
"We didn't think this would happen, based on all the information they gave us," she said.
Shultz said a controlled burn by the Army last October was unsuccessful. The Army told fish and wildlife officials that conditions then were too wet, she said.
"At this point, it is too early to know what happened," she said. "We have no idea whether they did everything right and it got out of control or if some of the preparation steps were not taken."
The Army loves the sweeping valley contours that serve as a natural barrier for live-fire training. In wetter weather, the area is quilted in lush shades of green, from lime to Army.
The military has used the area since World War II. It has been bombed from the air, shelled from the sea and attacked by ground troops.
But the community loves the valleys in the reservation for their natural beauty and historic significance.
Dodge said the Army will have to do a thorough assessment of what happened.
"They have been bragging about how good their fire plan is and how nothing like 1995 would happen again," Dodge said. "This is worse. They really don't know how to do a controlled burn."
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.
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