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 Birmingham News 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 Birmingham News.
More InformationWASHINGTON DC - In a major blow to U.S. President Joe Biden, less that a year out from the November ...
TOKYO, Japan: This week, the U.S. Air Force said that divers have discovered the wreckage and the remains of five ...
VANDENBERG, California: South Korea successfully launched its inaugural military spy satellite, following North Korea's recent claim of deploying its own ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia: The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia's Marapi volcano surged to 22 as rescuers discovered additional climbers ...
In September, Tamir Pardo, who headed the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from 2011 to ...
HONOLULU, Hawaii: U.S. Navy officials say that it would cost some $1.5 million to salvage a P-8A jet plane that ...
BIRMINGHAM, UK: This week, UK police said a "serious disorder outside" Villa Park, Birmingham, on Thursday in the buildup to ...
Indianapolis [US], December 8 (ANI): A protein present in the brains of patients suffering from frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has been ...
Tel Aviv [Israel], December 8 (ANI/TPS): Israel's Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant met with the visiting British Secretary of State ...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 8 (ANI): After wrapping up her two special films 'Dunki' and 'Phir Aayi Haseen Dilruba', actor ...
(Photo credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports) Bailey Zappe threw for three touchdowns and the New England Patriots held off ...
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 8 (ANI): Mumbai City FC returns to the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 action after over ...