Maui golf course buildings spared as brushfire rages on
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAIKAPU, Maui — County crews last night were battling a large wind-driven brushfire that blackened an estimated 1,000 acres of inaccessible brush on the leeward side of the West Maui Mountains.
Charlie Iwata • Maui Fire Department
The blaze reportedly started when winds whipped a scheduled 5 a.m. Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. cane fire out of control, sending it into the dry terrain above the Sandalwood and the Grand Waikapu golf courses and toward Ma'alaea.
A nearby golf course's water hazard proves convenient as a county helicopter piloted by Scott Caunter loads up another big bucket to fight the brushfire on the leeward side of the West Maui Mountains.
Maui Department of Fire Control crews responded by 5:40 a.m. By afternoon, six fire companies and a handful of private heavy equipment operators were on the scene, officials said, but three water-dropping helicopters took a primary role in battling the blaze.
Kyle Watanabe, Maui County Civil Defense administrator, said officials were considering asking the state for assistance in providing more helicopters.
While buildings at the golf courses were threatened initially, they were saved, officials said, and there were no other reports of structures in danger.
The primary link between West Maui and Central Maui — Honoapi'ilani Highway — remained open last night, as were all other major roads. But county officials advised motorists to use caution while driving in the area.
