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Massive brush fire spreads across Central Maui

July 11, 2019

1/20
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Video courtesy Jason Nerad and Justin Pincus
An enormous wildfire swept across 3,000 acres of mostly fallow former sugar cane fields Thursday, forcing evacuations, closing down highways, trapping some residents for hours and diverting flights from Kahului International Airport to Honolulu.
2/20
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THE NEWS VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

An out of control wildfire that began along a major Central Maui highway burns Thursday. Hawaii emergency officials ordered an evacuation on Maui due to the runaway brush fire.
3/20
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THE NEWS VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

A plume of smoke from a brush fire closes Kuihelani Highway in Central Maui on Thursday. Hawaii emergency officials ordered an evacuation on Maui due to the runaway brush fire.
4/20
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COURTESY COUNTY OF MAUI

An enormous wildfire swept across 3,000 acres of mostly fallow former sugar cane fields Thursday, forcing evacuations, closing down highways, trapping some residents for hours and diverting flights from Kahului International Airport to Honolulu.
5/20
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COURTESY COUNTY OF MAUI

Visitors and residents who described the scene said thick smoke ominously darkened the sky, the fire jumped roads and ash rained down.
6/20
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COURTESY MAUI FIRE DEPARTMENT

Smoke rises from a brush fire reported at 10:42 a.m. Thursday south of the intersection of Kuihelani Highway and Waiko Road in Central Maui.
7/20
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COURTESY MAUI FIRE DEPARTMENT

The blaze was moving south, fanned by winds reported at 15 to 20 mph, with higher gusts. No structures were immediately threatened.
8/20
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COURTESY WESLEY TECH

The fire disrupted electricity, landline and cellphone service. Even 911 service was only working intermittently.
9/20
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COURTESY JUSTIN PINCUS

Maui Mayor Mike Victorino said he made the decision to have mandatory evacuations first in North Kihei, followed by Maalaea. Maalaea residents were later allowed to return.
10/20
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COURTESY JUSTIN PINCUS

Three helicopters were being used from about 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. to make water drops Thursday, but all air operations would cease at sundown, Maui Fire Department’s Fire Services Chief Ryan Yatsushiro said.
11/20
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COURTESY JASON NERAD

The county’s Department of Transportation also provided six motor coaches, and five school buses were on standby at Kahului Airport to transport visitors and affected residents to shelters. Another 300 people were being transported to the War Memorial Gymnasium.
12/20
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COURTESY JASON NERAD

Fifty MFD personnel, including emergency call-back personnel, worked the fire, getting assets, including engines and tankers, where they need to go.
13/20
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COURTESY JASON NERAD

Maui Mayor Mike Victorino spoke to the magnitude of the fire, calling it massive, and coming very close to structures, pump stations and the Maalaea power plant in South Maui.
14/20
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COURTESY JESSICA CADDEN

Mahi Pono, which took over 41,000 acres of former sugarcane land in Central Maui for diversified agriculture, is starting to plow the fields it intends to plant, Maui Mayor Mike Victorino said. He noted that green farmland appears to have been spared.
15/20
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COURTESY MICHELLE ROMANO

The National Guard and a CH47 Chinook helicopter were on standby, but Maui Mayor Mike Victorino said he decided not to bring it from Oahu late in the day.
16/20
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COURTESY MICHELLE ROMANO

Three shelters were opened. The Kamalii shelter was filled, however. The Maui Humane Society evacuated its animals in crates and kennels to Maui High School.
17/20
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COURTESY MICHELLE ROMANO

Many took to Twitter asking whether Oprah Winfrey would open her privately owned access road to allow another way out of the area. Winfrey tweeted: “Access to the road was given to county officials immediately. This was many hours ago. Hoping for the safety of all.”
18/20
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COURTESY MICHELLE ROMANO

An out of control wildfire that began along a major Central Maui highway and spread across 3,000 acres Thursday forced people to evacuate.
19/20
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COURTESY ROGER NORRIS

Canadian visitor Roger Norris, from Victoria, B.C., said he and his wife and teenage daughter were at the pool at their South Kihei condo when ash started coming down though the sky was clear. After driving toward Wailea, they noticed the sky getting smoky and by 2:30 p.m. “it was getting thicker and thicker.”
20/20
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COURTESY ROGER NORRIS

“Even now it’s 6:30 p.m., … outside it’s quite dark and very smoky. There’s a smell of dense smoke and ash all over the lanai. It’s quite eerie. We know Kihei is cut off and we’re supposed to fly out tomorrow," Canadian visitor Roger Norris said on Thursday.
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