Firefighters battle 2 brush fires

Honolulu firefighters and state Department of Forestry and Wildlife personnel are continuing their protracted battle against still-smoldering areas of the 1,000-acre brush fire that started two weeks ago in upper Makakilo.

While the fire is no longer considered a threat to homes in the area, firefighters have not yet been able to fully extinguish it due to inaccessible terrain and a heavy canopy of vegetation that has stymied attempts from helicopters dropping water on the fire.

Firefighters have been battling the fire since Aug. 22, when two 7-year-old boys playing with a lighter accidentally ignited dry brush in an area off Umena Street.

The fire initially prompted the evacuation of 20 homes on and near Umena Street and 20 cabins and other structures at nearby Camp Timberline. Firefighters have since minimized the threat by cutting away vegetation in a 30-foot swath around the threatened structures.

HFD has employed a variety of methods to stem the spread of the fire, including treating foliage with Class A foam, which absorbs heat and aids with extinguishment.

Several flare-ups have occurred since the fire first broke out, most recently over the Labor Day weekend, leading firefighters to concentrate efforts on protecting a line of communication towers that include telephone, cellular, radio, TV, cable and Federal Aviation Administration and Navy communication lines.

Fire personnel were pulled from the area around 10:45 a.m. Friday to fight another large brush fire in the gulch near the Waikele Bunkers, according to Hono­lulu Fire Department spokes­man Capt. Kevin Mokulehua.

Seventeen units, involving 42 personnel, responded to the mile-long blaze. HFD’s Air 1 helicopter was also deployed to fight the fire.

Mokulehua said the helicopter drew water from a pond at the nearby Waikele Country Club golf course, enabling firefighters to quickly contain the fire’s north-south spread.

A Department of Forestry and Wildlife helicopter continued to drop water on the Makakilo fire while the HFD helicopter was rerouted.