Naka Nathaniel is an opinion columnist for Honolulu Civil Beat.
In Hawai’i this summer, we would glance at the news from the rest of the country and be grateful that we weren’t suffering under the extreme weather — heat domes, deluges or smoke-filled skies — that other parts of the world were experiencing. We remained sheltered in our corner of paradise.
But “paradise” was a marketing ploy, never the truth nor a guarantee.
Today, Hawai’i is reeling and in shock. The rising death toll — currently standing at 55 — from wildfires that are raging across Maui, is simply soul-crushing.
Maui County officials closed all roads to public use in the town of Lahaina as wildfires on the Hawaiian island burned out of control, driven by high winds that the Associated Press said gusted over 60 mph. Hurricane Dora has passed to the south of the islands at a distance of nearly 500 miles, but extreme conditions and violent winds across the islands resulted in numerous power outages late Tuesday; firefighters struggled to reach areas cut off by downed trees and powerlines.
The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora’s winds knocked out power and grounded firefighting helicopters.
West Maui is closed off to all traffic, according to a CNN report from Maui County. Only emergency personnel are allowed access to that part of the island.
The BBC reported that some residents were forced to jump into the ocean ahead of racing flames; the Coast Guard said at least a dozen people were rescued from the water. Local media reported “apocalyptic scenes” in the historic town of Lahaina, parts of which were destroyed or severely damaged. The Lahaina fire is one of at least seven now burning in the state.
A local CBS affiliate reported that dozens of homes and businesses were destroyed on the western part of the island of Maui, the second largest and third most populated island in the state. HawaiiNewsNow reported that witnesses described apocalyptic scenes Tuesday. Residents say an overwhelmed fire force, fighting flames all day in powerful winds, could do little as flames ripped through Lahaina.
Videos from the island show the historic town’s main street and local businesses burning. “Buildings on both sides were engulfed,” local business owner Alan Dickar told CBS.
“Hawaii National Guardsmen have been activated and are currently on Maui assisting Maui Police Department at traffic control points,” said Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, Hawaii’s adjutant general. The overnight deployment was hastened by the dynamic fire conditions, and additional National Guard personnel are expected to arrive in Maui and Hawaii counties later Wednesday, Hara said.
Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke, who is acting while Gov. Josh Green is traveling out of state, issued an emergency proclamation Tuesday that activated the Guard. Updated road closures and other emergency notices are posted on the County of Maui facebook page.
A 215-acre wildfire in San Jacinto County was contained on August 2 according to a report by ABC-13 News. That afternoon, resources were requested from Texas A&M Forest Service (TAMFS) on the Snowhill Fire. Shortly after 1 p.m. crews on the fire reported moderate to high fire behavior with several structures threatened, evacuations under way, and road closures in place.
The agency also reported that two of its firefighters suffered burn injuries when fire behavior intensified at about 5 p.m.
The agency’s 24-hour report noted that fire behavior intensified on a part of the fire where a dozer crew was working. The two injured firefighters were not wearing PPE properly and both experienced first- and second-degree burns to the face, hands, and sides.
The two firefighters were transported to a hospital and both were treated and released.
Two days later the agency released its 72-hour report on an aircraft incident in Travis County.
On August 1 at about 10:30 p.m. an air tactical aircraft working a different fire was involved in an incident at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport — about 5 miles southeast of downtown Austin — after flying the Powder Keg Pine Fire near Bastrop, about 150 miles southwest of Lake Livingston near the location of the Snowhill Fire.
TAMFS resources were requested on August 1 on the Powder Keg Pine Fire in Bastrop County. Numerous aircraft were dispatched, including the Air Attack Platform at the Gillespie County Airport in Fredericksburg. The aircraft is a King Air C90A turboprop registered to Safford Aviation Service in Coolidge, Arizona (which had not yet replied to a request for comment when this was posted).
At about 8:40 p.m. the aircraft was released from the fire and made a 30-minute flight back to the Gillespie County Airport. On approach, though, the pilot and ATGS reported an issue with landing gear indicators; just two of the three indicated that the landing gear was down and locked. The pilot and ATGS attempted to fix the issue manually, and at about 9:30 p.m. they reported they had two hours of fuel left and intended to fly to Austin-Bergstrom, an FAA-controlled airport, where they’d do fly-bys so the control tower could see whether the landing gear was actually down. After two fly-bys, the tower told them it appeared to be down, and they approached for landing.
Upon landing the aircraft, though, the right landing gear collapsed, and the right propeller blades contacted the concrete and were damaged. The right gear appeared to have collapsed back into the aircraft gear hold, according to the report.
Neither the pilot nor the ATGS was injured and no civilians were injured. Both the pilot and ATGS were in constant radio communication with TAMFS dispatch in College Station, and the aircraft was tracked using the real-time map-based Automated Flight Following (AFF) system. The NTSB will investigate.
Spectrum News reported that Texas A&M Forest Service, the state’s lead agency for wildfire response, on Monday raised the state’s preparedness level to 4 — its second-highest level. The agency said over the past seven days it has responded to 80 wildfires burning 8,521 acres, with 41 fires since Friday.
The forecast for this week calls for more triple-digit temperatures with few chances for rain, and 164 Texas counties are now under burn bans.
THIS IS a temporary post,
in the aftermath of numerous fatalities on fires this season,
and considering the comments posted publicly on both sites and the piles of emails I’m getting privately from readers,
and I’d really like for all of our readers to review these two posts,
both written by Bill Gabbert and fully endorsed today by me.
A 21-year-old federal firefighter was killed in an on-duty vehicle accident on Friday, August 4, near Powers, Oregon. Benjamin Sapper from Boulder, Colorado was a handcrew member on the Gold Beach Ranger District of the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest in southwest Oregon.
“This is a devastating loss of one of our own Gold Beach firefighters,” District Ranger Kailey Guerrant told KATU-TV. “We have a tight-knit community on the Gold Beach and Powers Ranger Districts, and we stand together in grief and support for his family, friends, and fellow firefighters during this heartbreaking time.”
Benjamin Sapper photo courtesy USFS
Benjamin graduated from Boulder High School and the University of Colorado with a degree in Applied Mathematics.
KDRV-TV reported that Sapper was on duty and traveling with his crew when their rig was involved in a vehicle crash. Coquille Fire & Rescue said the vehicle left the roadway above the community of Powers.
Sapper was an avid baseball player, chess player, and skier who planned to attend grad school in earth sciences this fall at the University of British Columbia.
Our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to his co-workers on the Gold Beach crew.
A heavy aerial and ground attack by firefighters kept homes safe on the north side of Whitefish Lake over the weekend. Fire managers with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation said the human-caused fire was ignited by equipment operating in a dry hayfield; the fire burned onto forested areas of the Stillwater State Forest.
The North Lake Fire burned only about 5 acres, but spot fires quickly spread to a 17-acre perimeter. The fire was 80 percent contained by Monday and crews were still mopping up. The fire was first reported by the Warner Peak Lookout, according to the Western News out of Libby, Montana.
Aerial support was dispatched Saturday afternoon and included Type 1, 2 and 3 helicopters. Five engines, two watertenders, a hotshot crew and another crew assisted. Homes and other structures were within the vicinity, but no evacuations were necessary. Flathead County requested assistance from the Red Cross to open a shelter at Canvas Church in Kalispell.
Montana Public Radio reported that another relatively small fire late Sunday took off from the outskirts of Lolo. Firefighters kept the wind-driven fire, burning through dry grass and brush, to about 20 acres — but it destroyed a mobile home and damaged a second one. According to the Missoula Rural Fire District, the fire also destroyed four shops and garages and another 12 outbuildings; it also totaled or damaged about a dozen vehicles. The fire is under investigation.
Hand crew headed for supper at the Colt Fire base camp
Numerous fires burned actively across northwest Montana and at least three new fires took off in the Mission Valley Sunday after a dry lightning storm. The Niarada Fire west of Elmo was at 1,000 acres Monday morning, and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) fire managers said Hwy 28 was closed Sunday after the fire jumped the highway; it was estimated at 200 acres by Sunday evening, about 11 miles west of Elmo, and 18 smokejumpers were working the fire. Four SEATs, a helicopter, and other resources also responded.
The Middle Ridge Fire southwest of Sloan’s Bridge, at 500 acres, was burning in grass and timber. North of Dixon, the Communication Butte Fire was estimated at 255 acres, with 20 firefighters assigned. CSKT fire managers said no structures were threatened by any of the fires.
Numerous other small fires cropped up Sunday in Lake and Flathead counties.
The Woodward Point and Porcupine Creek fires were detected in the Mission Mountains on the east side of Flathead Lake; along Hungry Horse Reservoir, the Ridge Fire had burned about 5 acres and the Emery Fire was less than an acre. Other smaller fires were reported farther down the reservoir.
The Kah Mountain Fire in the Swan Mountains was at 15 acres.
Colt Fire northwest of Seeley Lake, inciweb photo.
The Colt Fire, northwest of Seeley Lake on the Flathead and Lolo National Forests, had grown to nearly 6,200 acres Monday. It is burning in dense timber with heavy dead and down fuels, about 12 miles northwest of Seeley. Fire behavior has included torching, spotting, and active consumption of heavy fuels. The fire was started by lightning on Monday, July 17, and Montana DNRC and USFS firefighters responded the next day. The fire is burning on the Lolo National Forest but is under Montana DNRC fire protection.
Colt Fire community meeting in Condon, July 26.
Fire managers expect the fire will increase in size with the forecasted weather conditions. The Colt Fire is a full-suppression fire and crews are creating fuel breaks and containment lines, along with doing structure protection assessments and prep. Air resources will be assigned as needed. Several forest roads and other areas have been closed.
The USDA has designated Flathead and Lincoln counties as primary natural disaster areas, according to a KPAX-TV report, meaning farmers and ranchers can apply for emergency loans. Gov. Greg Gianforte asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that 11 counties be designated drought disaster areas. The USDA responded that Flathead and Lincoln counties will be named primary natural disaster areas, so farm operators there can be considered for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.
