Fast-moving brush fire in Hawaii’s Maui County evacuates at least 105 homes, no structures burned

HONOLULU (AP) — A fast-moving brush fire fueled by fierce winds has forced the evacuation of over 100 homes on the Hawaii island of Maui, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) from the scene of a devastating fire two years ago that killed more than 100 people in the historic town of Lahaina.

The fire that started Sunday is on the opposite side of the island, in a sparsely populated area with land set aside for Native Hawaiians

Here’s what we know about the fire so far:

Fire size now estimated at 330 acres

The Kahikinui was initially estimated at 500 acres (202 hectares), but aerial surveys overnight put the estimate at about 330 acres (134 hectares), the County of Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety said. The fire is 80% contained.

“The remote, challenging terrain doesn’t support walking and estimates have varied on this brush fire,” the department said in a statement issued Monday morning.

Smoldering fire conditions continue throughout the burn area. A Maui Police Department drone flown over the area showed numerous hot spots, but none flared overnight.

No injuries or structural damage had been reported. Evacuation orders remained in place Monday, when weather conditions were mostly sunny with a high of 67 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius) and east winds of about 15 mph (24 kph), gusting up to about 25 mph (40 kph).

Maui is considered to be 100% in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Authorities conducted door-to-door evacuations and part of a highway remains closed.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and Mayor Richard Bissen signed Emergency Proclamations that activate the Hawaii National Guard to deploy resources as needed to aid in fire suppression and protect public safety, and authorizing the county to access federal assistance programs for individuals and public infrastructure.

A shelter opened Monday at a community center after a school gymnasium used as a shelter Sunday had to close for a summer school function.

What is the region like?

Compared to the tourism draw of Lahaina, Kahikinui is less populated and developed. It was used for cattle ranching for many years and is a few miles from the Kahikinui State Forest Reserve, a conservation area.

The fire department has multiple engines, tankers and a helicopter battling the blaze in what it calls “steep, challenging, hard-to-access terrain.”

The Kahikinui Kuleana Homestead Program created 104 lots and homesteaders accepted leases of 10 to 20 acres each as of 2011, according to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Fire devastated Lahaina nearly two years ago

The Kahikinui brush fire is in southeastern Maui, while Lahaina, the site of a massive inferno in 2023, is on the western side of the island, about 60 miles (96.5 kilometers) away.

The Lahaina fire, the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century, killed more than 100 people, destroyed thousands of properties and caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damage.

Other fires are also burning across the American West

Crews also are battling wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, around the Great Basin, in California and the Rockies.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service and federal land managers have warned in recent weeks that fire danger is escalating in many places amid rising daytime temperatures and single-digit humidity levels.

The risks won’t start to wane — at least in the southwestern U.S. — until the monsoon starts to kick in, bringing much needed rain. In southern New Mexico, a wildfire ballooned to nearly 30 square miles over the weekend in the Gila National Forest.

The flames forced the evacuations of homes that dot the mountains north of Silver City, blocked access to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and prompted air quality warnings as smoke drifted north. Campgrounds and access points to the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail also were closed.

In Oregon, several dozen homes in Wasco County were destroyed by a fire that started last Wednesday. Some evacuations remained in place, but fire managers said Monday that the threat to structures had diminished.

So far this year, the nation has seen double the number of fires as last year but the acreage is less, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 2,700 wildland firefighters and support personnel were currently assigned to 15 large wildfires across the country.

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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire, and Thiessen from Anchorage, Alaska. Susan Montoya Bryant contributed from Albuquerque.

By AUREY McAVOY, KATHY McCORMACK and MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press