Wildfire

(Waikoloa, Hawai’i) – A fast-moving, wind whipped wildfire on Hawai‘i Island has federal, state, and county firefighters preparing for a prolonged, intense firefight. Called the Leilani fire, Wednesday night it grew from an estimated 700-acres in size to 9,800 acres this afternoon.

(HONOLULU) – If you go back and listen to the sound of a small wildfire just last week, you hear how tinder dry the forest is. Snap, crackle, pop. If you listen to radio and television announcements, we’re all being asked to conserve water. The link between drought conditions and wildfire in Hawai‘i is already in full play and conditions this summer are expected to worsen.

(HONOLULU) – A small wildfire in the Kuaokalā Forest Reserve likely started from an unattended campfire. This morning a small team of firefighters from the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) continue work to put out the fire, estimated to be one-two acres in size.

(Pōhakuloa Training Area) – You can’t miss the signs on the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, on either side of the U.S. Army’s Pōhakuloa  Training Area (PTA), with large red letters spelling out, “Extreme Fire Danger.” Vegetation on the slopes of Mauna Kea is tinder dry and because of ever-worsening drought conditions is ripe for another wildfire like the 2021 Mana Road fire. At more than 40,000 acres, it was one of the largest wildland fires in recorded Hawai‘i history. 

(HONOLULU) – Most of Hawai‘i is beginning to experience drought conditions, during the time of year when rain is normally plentiful and regular.   The State Commission of Water Resource Management (CWRM) is advising people to take immediate actions to reduce water use in Maui County especially, describing current drought conditions as historic.  

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE  CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: November 22, 2021 HAWAI‘I WILDLIFE CONSERVATION STAMP CONTEST OPENS (Honolulu) – ...
Read More 11/22/21-HAWAI‘I WILDLIFE CONSERVATION STAMP CONTEST OPENS

(HILO) – The Mana Road fire that burned along Old Saddle Road on the slopes of Mauna Kea on Hawai‘i Island was one of the largest wildland fires in recorded Hawai‘i history. In late July and early August, it scorched more than 42,000 acres of mostly grassland above Waimea and largely on the Parker Ranch. 

(Kahului, Maui) – A remarkable discovery on Wednesday is providing a morale boast and hope to the dozens of experts working to save kiwikiu from extinction. One bird, released into the Nakula Natural Area Reserve (NAR) on the leeward slopes of Haleakalā, was found alive and well, after being thought dead for 605 days.

(Hāmākua District, Hawai‘i Island) – To seasoned wildland firefighters, the 1,400-acre brush fire that swept through former sugar cane fields in Pa‘auilo last Friday, was not a huge surprise. 

(HONOLULU) – As rural residents on Hawai‘i Island feared they could lose their homes overnight, suburban residents in East O‘ahu demonstrated today their proactive approach to making sure wildland fire does not strike their neighborhood.