Brush Fire Threatened Home

Six brush fires blazed on Molokai last week, five of which were small but deemed of suspicious cause on Tuesday, Sept. 27. A larger fire burned 10 acres near the Molokai Airport two days later, coming dangerously close to a home.

On Tuesday around 5:45 p.m. Molokai firefighters responded to four separate brush fires, all around 200 to 300 yards apart, along the Maunaloa Highway near the Seventh Day Adventist Church.  A fifth small fire was found one mile up the highway near Kamakou Forest Preserve Road.

According to the Maui Fire Department, the largest fire was 20 by 50 feet in size. Two of the fires were extinguished by passing drivers. All five fires were fully extinguished by around 6:30 p.m.

The Maui Fire Department said the cause of the fires remains under investigation, but called them suspicious.

On Thursday, Sept. 29 at 8:30 a.m., firefighters rushed to the scene of a half-acre fire burning about a quarter mile south of the airport. The fire came as close as 50 yards to a home, but no damages or injuries resulted.

The fire was brought under control about an hour and a half later, after it had burned 10 acres of brush. The fire department reported that 16 firefighters from all three Molokai stations in Ho`olehua, Kaunakakai and Pukoo came together to fight the blaze. A county water tanker as well as a fire department helicopter also assisted in the effort.

The cause of the fire was undetermined.