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Fire crews are continuing to battle a brush fire at Keauhou Ranch that has burned nearly 3,700 acres.
Spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said the fire on the slopes of Mauna Loa has scorched 3,679 acres is approximately 51 percent contained. Firefighters have reduced the spread of the fire toward the Volcano Golf Course community and Kipuka Ki, a special ecological area that contains threatened and endangered native plants and animals.
Firefighters used chainsaws and hand tools to remove dry vegetation from an old a’a lava flow bordering Kipuka Ki. Helicopters also assisted ground crews with water drops.
Ferracane advised motorists to exercise caution as plumes of smoke from the fire are visible from Highway 11.
Over 20 firefighters from the Folsom Lake Veterans Crew from Placerville, Calif. assisted fire crews from the National Park Service, Hawaii County, State Division of Forestry and Wildlife and volunteers from Volcano’s Company 19 to battle the brush fire.
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