Robert Besser
17 Nov 2023, 02:45 GMT+10
HONOLULU, Hawaii: Just months after a devastating blaze on a neighboring island of Maui destroyed the entire town of Lahaina and killed at least 99 people, another wildfire is burning in a remote rainforest in Oahu.
No injuries and damaged homes were reported in the latest fire, which burned mountain ridges on Oahu, but the flames wiped out irreplaceable native forestland home to nearly two dozen vulnerable species.
The causes were similar to the fire that destroyed Maui's historic town of Lahaina, which are severe drought combined with climate change.
JC Watson, manager of the Koolau Mountains Watershed Partnership, which helps take care of the land, said, "It was really beautiful native forest. It is not a full-on clean burn, but it is pretty moonscape-looking out there."
Sam 'Ohu Gon III, senior scientist and cultural adviser at The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii, said, "The fact that this fire was on Oahu's wetter, windward side is a red flag to all of us that there is change afoot."
The fire mostly burned inside the Oahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge, which, according to the U.S. government, is home to 22 species listed as endangered or threatened.
Since first being spotted on October 30, the fire, some 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Honolulu, incinerated 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) and was 90 percent contained as of Friday.
Officials were investigating the fire's cause.
An Oahu forest near the latest fire had uluhe ferns, koa trees and ohia trees before a blaze burned less than a square mile of it in 2015, and now the land contains invasive grasses that are more fire-prone and some slow-growing koa, Watson said.
Hawaii fires are almost always started by people, so more needs to be done to raise awareness about prevention, Gon stressed.
Hawaii state officials are seeking additional funding from the Legislature next year for updated firefighting equipment, firebreaks, new water sources for fire suppression, replanting native trees and plants, and seed storage.
Get a daily dose of Hawaii Telegraph news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Hawaii Telegraph.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - In a rare move, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has taken a dramatic constitutional step ...
BUKITTINGGI, Indonesia: On December 2, Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, erupted, sending hot ash clouds several miles (kilometers) ...
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: In a measure supporters claimed will increase public safety amid high violent crime rates, Philadelphia City Council passed ...
CHICAGO, Illinois: As winter sets in and with cold weather just around the corner, Chicago is struggling to house hundreds ...
BOLOGNA, Italy: Due to fears of a collapse, local officials have secured the area around one of two 12th century ...
MUNICH, Germany: The heavy snow and icy conditions that hit Bavaria, Germany, canceled flights and long-distance trains out of Munich, ...
BEIJING, China: Falling hog prices, mounting losses and rising debt are putting pressure on the biggest pig breeders in China, ...
NEW YORK, New York - A decline in labor costs as measured by ADP failed to boost U.S. Markets Wednesday."ADP's ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: A U.S. auto safety regulator said this week it is opening an investigation into 73,000 Chevrolet Volt plug-in ...
NEW YORK: This week, a New York judge approved legal settlements to end lawsuits that halted the state's legal cannabis ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks spent most of Tuesday meandering, with the major indices closing out the day ...
DEARBORN, Michigan: This week, Ford said a six-week United Auto Workers (UAW) strike cut its sales by some 100,000 vehicles ...