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July 15, 2024

While cautioning people to remain vigilant because the multiday Crater Road fire is not yet over, County officials during a press conference in Wailuku this morning offered insights on the uniqueness of the 574-acre blaze and thanked federal, state and private partners for continuing to battle the fire in harsh conditions.

“This fire is not out,” County of Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety (MFD) Chief Brad Ventura said. “We will be up there continuing to work on hot spots.”

MFD reported the Crater Road Fire along the slopes of Haleakala just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10. As of today, it is 80% contained. There have been no evacuations, reports of injuries or structural damages. However, two emergency advisories to prepare for potential evacuations were posted then lifted hours later, and nearby roads and facilities remain closed.

The multiagency response has been working to contain the fire amid difficult terrain at approximately 7,000-foot elevation. Mostly Haleakala Ranch land, the area includes ravines and gullies, dense eucalyptus patches and unpredictable weather filled with low humidity, strong, swirling gusts of wind and intermittent cloud cover.

Bulldozer lines had been cut around approximately 70% of the 4-mile fire perimeter, with private dozer operators helping navigate gulches and gullies, Ventura said.

State, county and private water tankers have helped shuttle more than a half-million gallons of water uphill since the fire started, Ventura said. On Friday and Saturday, Hawaiʻi National Guard aircraft dropped more than 63,000 gallons of water on the fire, mostly in a eucalyptus grove on the mauka flank of the fire, Ventura said.

Along with fighting the fire, helicopters are moving portable water totes along the fire line and shuttling firefighters to different areas of the fire, which has only a quarter-mile of road along its perimeter, Ventura said. He said firefighters with hand tools are hiking in to fight the fire using water from the portable totes in work that is “extremely physically demanding.”

MFD’s drone team, started more than a year ago, has piloted drones overnight to monitor the fire and provide situational updates, Ventura said.

Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Amos Lonokailua-Hewett said the agency’s effort has included focusing on public safety, coordinating resources responding to the fire and gathering and disseminating information to the public.

Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said Administrator Lonokailua-Hewett had highlighted a “clear path on how to be proactive,” including by preparing for possible evacuations.

“We have seen such coordinated effort,” she said. “Red Flag Warnings have become a new normal. During this time, we all have to be vigilant, not just about hurricane readiness but wildfire readiness.”

County officials thanked state, federal and private partners for providing resources to help battle the Crater Road Fire.

Mayor Bissen, Acting Gov. Luke and other officials acknowledged the coordinated response by the MFD, Maui Police Department, Maui Emergency Management Agency, Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency, County Department of Public Works, state Department of Forestry and Wildlife, National Park Service, state Department of Transportation, Haleakalā Ranch, Alpha Inc., Goodfellow Bros., Mahi Pono, Vares Construction and C Hayes Excavation.

“Weʻre very grateful for all those folks helping us, as they have done in past emergencies,” said Mayor Bissen.

Mayor Bissen, acknowledging the community’s anxiety and stress, said residents can seek mental health support at www.mauirecovers.org or by calling the Hawai’I Cares Crisis Line at 988.

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