Forestry crews monitor still-smoldering Olinda fire | News, Sports, Jobs

A Division of Forestry and Wildlife team waters down the base of a tree in Olinda on Wednesday. Photos courtesy DLNR

The Maui News

A four-person team of state forestry staff is continuing to monitor the 1,081-acre Olinda fire, which remains 90 percent contained roughly a month after it first began.

Every day, the crew from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife patrols the lines established in the Waihou Spring Forest Reserve and on adjacent private ranch land to douse hot spots and smokers, the department said Thursday.

The fire began on Aug. 8, the same day that another fire leveled Lahaina town and killed at least 115 people.

As of Sunday, the Olinda fire was 90 percent contained, while the 202-acre Kula fire was 95 percent contained and the 2,170-acre Lahaina fire was 100 percent contained, according to Maui County.

A water tanker hoses down a stand of trees in Olinda on Wednesday. Photos courtesy DLNR

Crew members who are monitoring the fires noted the serious drought conditions Upcountry. DOFAW forester Chris Chow, who was born and raised on Maui, said he’s “never seen Upcountry as dry as it is this year.”

“I was looking at old satellite images and you can see that it’s progressively getting drier, like all Upcountry is completely brown,” Chow said in a news release Thursday. “These roads that we’re driving, you can tell this place is dry based on the soil. It is just powder. Just walking on it, you’ve got powder everywhere. The vegetation is just so crispy. When it was catching fire, it was like within seconds an entire bush would be consumed.”

The DLNR said the fire could continue smoldering deep in the roots of trees for as long as two months. Standing near a mammoth tree that toppled during the fire, DOFAW’s John Neizman said the inside of the tree is burning.

“So, we had to do some notching and then add water just to get the hotspot inside a tree,” Neizman said.

Among the tools that the DOFAW team is using are a 4,000-gallon contract water tanker, one of DOFAW’s 250-gallon pumper trucks, portable water bags, shovels and Pulaskis, which are specialized tools that combine an axe and an adze and are used in wildland firefighting.

“Truly one of the biggest things that comes out of these patrols is showing a presence, because right now everyone’s on edge,” Chow said. “Anytime people see smoke pop up, they call 911. And so, our purpose here is letting the Maui Fire Department and other first responders take care of other things and then we can just handle things here.”

Commenting on reports of people having bonfires and lighting fireworks nearby in the Kula Forest Reserve and Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area, Chow said, “that kind of stuff is totally discouraged,” as well as any kind of open flame, including barbecues.

“People need to calm down on that kind of stuff until we get through this dry season,” Chow said. “Literally anything from a cigarette butt to a hot catalytic converter parked over dry grass can start a wildfire instantly. This place is a tinder box for sure.”

DOFAW Maui Branch Manager Scott Fretz hopes it’s something that people take seriously, especially in light of the recent tragic fires.

“There’s been so much suffering, loss of life, and property destruction, we hope everyone will take on wildfire prevention as their personal kuleana,” Fretz said.

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