County: Work done last year helped with Olowalu fire success
OLOWALU (HawaiiNewsNow) – County officials say there were many similarities between the recent brush fire in Olowalu during Hurricane Nolo and the 2023 fire disaster during Hurricane Dora, yet the outcome was drastically different.
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From 2024 to today, the Maui Emergency Operations Center has been activated 137 times.
Officials say work done over the years was instrumental in saving lives and homes over the weekend.
Wind gusts reached 80 mph
County officials say wind gusts reached 80 mph in Olowalu during the fire, which could have been catastrophic.
“The coordination with the fire department on the ground was, in my mind, I’m gonna use the word magical, because there’s a lot of really important things that happened at the right time,” said Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Administrator Amos Lonokailua-Hewett.
The fire in Olowalu broke out just before 2 p.m. Saturday, threatening homes and businesses. Sirens were quickly sounded, prompting emergency evacuations.
The evacuation order was lifted Monday morning.
State and county crews are still monitoring hotspots.
“They’re continuing to make sure there are no flare-ups and that we get it to 100% contained. So we’re really grateful to all the first responders who have been on the scene, have been monitoring this 24-7 since it started. Again, no impacts to homes and to any lives. That’s really what we’re most grateful for,” said Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen.
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Wildfire risk reduction project
The mayor said a major contributing factor to this success was work done last year.
From August to December, the county and state partnered on a wildfire risk reduction project. They cleared the area’s fields and backroads of about 176 tons of solid waste and 13 tons of electric vehicle batteries.
Officials say the Olowalu fire could have been disastrous if the area had been left unmanaged.
“Everything we do is to protect lives,” Lonokailua-Hewett said. “We do it in the form of emergency management programs of preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. We’re trying to reduce risk and eliminate risk to protect and save lives.”
“When we look at the toll we paid in 2023. We understand what the alternatives are,” Bissen said. “We’re trying to get better. We’re trying to get better each time. We’re working in that direction. More to do. More to do ahead.”
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