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 Ohio Standard 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 Ohio Standard.
More InformationPHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: In a measure supporters claimed will increase public safety amid high violent crime rates, Philadelphia City Council passed ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. cruise operators and travel agents said that 2024 will witness record passenger numbers for the cruise industry, ...
SEATTLE, Washington: The Seattle Times reported that thousands of households were without power in the greater Seattle area on the ...
CHICAGO, Illinois: As winter sets in and with cold weather just around the corner, Chicago is struggling to house hundreds ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: A U.S. auto safety regulator said this week it is opening an investigation into 73,000 Chevrolet Volt plug-in ...
NEW YORK: This week, a New York judge approved legal settlements to end lawsuits that halted the state's legal cannabis ...
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: In a measure supporters claimed will increase public safety amid high violent crime rates, Philadelphia City Council passed ...
CHICAGO, Illinois: As winter sets in and with cold weather just around the corner, Chicago is struggling to house hundreds ...
BOLOGNA, Italy: Due to fears of a collapse, local officials have secured the area around one of two 12th century ...
MUNICH, Germany: The heavy snow and icy conditions that hit Bavaria, Germany, canceled flights and long-distance trains out of Munich, ...
RALEIGH, North Carolina: After a decade of discussions and hesitations, North Carolina has expanded Medicaid coverage by offering government-funded health ...
The U.S. has supplied Israel with scores of BLU-109 bunker-buster bombs since October 7, the Wall Street Journal has reported, ...