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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Rains quench Maui blaze

Advertiser Staff

KULA, Maui — Heavy rains on Haleakala on Monday helped firefighters contain a forest fire that has burned approximately 2,000 acres.

The fire is suspected to have spread Wednesday from an illegal campfire at the upper Waiohuli trail in the Kula Forest Reserve near Polipoli State Park, officials said. It has been burning at the 6,000- and 7,600-foot elevation.

Eleven additional National Park Service firefighters from the Big Island were expected to join the 38 state Division of Forestry and Wildlife personnel already at the fire scene. The federal crew is specially trained to handle massive fires.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources reported Monday that the forest fire was entirely contained. But gusty winds of up to 30 mph were posing an additional threat, according to the DLNR's John Cumming.

"Because the stability of many of the extremely large trees has been compromised by the fire, partially burned trees with weak bases are toppling over in the high wind. Helicopters are grounded and firefighting crews are on standby and not operating as a safety precaution," he said.

The winds also were causing trouble for Maui Electric Co., which reported numerous isolated outages throughout the day, especially in the Upcountry region where fallen utility poles and tree branches were causing blackouts.

Kokomo Road near Giggle Hill in Ha'iku was closed at 3 p.m. because of a fallen utility pole.

Wind gusts of up to 60 mph atop Haleakala forced national park officials to close the summit building at the 10,000-foot level. The visitor center at the crater remained open.

Despite the rough weather and a wind-chill temperature of 24 degrees, visitors kept streaming up to the dormant volcano, said Haleakala National Park spokesman Dominic Cardea.