Ka’alualu Bay, Ka’u Brushfire Day #1 Report
Saturday 7:57pm
19 HFD apparatus; 39 HFD personnel
A roadblock was put in place
Brush fire originating near Ka’alu’alu Bay in Ka’u. Fire quickly spread by strong ENE winds.
HFD units from Pahala, Naalehu and HOVE responded to this fast moving brushfire. Due to the remote nature of the fire, private bull dozers were used to cut fire lines around the fire. In the morning, the fire had grown to ~3250 acres; ground unit’s, including volunteer units, were deployed to control flare ups along the flanks of the fire. As the day progressed, winds turned Easterly and grew to about 25 mph. HFD Chopper 1 and Chopper 2 did water bucket operations using sea water, HFD tankers and ranching water sources. By late afternoon, the fire had grown to ~3,500 acres, was 90% contained and all that remained were hot spots throughout the burn area. Night watch units remained on scene with a state highways dozer to continue to mop up and widen fire breaks for tomorrows continued fire fighting. No injuries, several ranch buildings were saved and a paddock each of painted horses and cattle were saved by cutting fencelines as the fire cornered them against the perimeters of the paddocks.
Pastureland, scattered low mesic forest
Approx 3500 acres burned so far
