Wildfire at Waiheʻe
Singed rock and smoke indicate where the fire burned at Waiheʻe, endangering people and native habitat.
On the morning of March 4th, our Waiheʻe Refuge stewards on Maui were leading a group of volunteers in stewardship work when they saw a large plume of smoke rising on the coastline.
All of our preserves are open to the public, and some of our preserves, HILT’s Waiheʻe Refuge among them, permit camping or are coastal areas popular for fishing. Accidents happen, but responsible and mindful use of space helps to avoid dangerous situations.
In this instance on March 4th, an individual had spent the night with pole cast and set a small campfire on the shore.
A long length of the Waiheʻe coastline is rocky cobble, accreted over time from the surrounding streams. Also brought down by the storm flows are large amounts of sticks, branches and trunks of trees from the valleys above which builds a substantial debris line along the rocky coast. Though not visible, much of the small wood debris either works its way down between the stones or gets buried by large swells tumbling the rock back and forth.
Unfortunately not everyone is aware of this, and fires set in the rocky shoreline, even when the surface debris is clear, can cause the wooden duff below to burn and smolder unseen.
When our stewards arrived at the site of the fire, a twenty foot length of the driftwood debris line was on fire with flames burning high and the heat billowing in waves against those who came near. Our stewards jumped into action and directed volunteers to form a bucket brigade pulling water up from the ocean and working to keep the fire from spreading down the coastal debris line. After the bulk of the fire was extinguished, continued checks were made on the area to ensure that spots down below the rock which still burned hot did not spread.
These fires happen on rare occasion and have burned large swaths of area, even burning through the naupaka and native groundcover that we have planted over the years which now lines the coast. Fortunately, all have been contained by either the fire department or, as in this case, by staff and people enjoying time on ʻāina.
Please be mindful of your activities. Know that open beach fires are illegal. Utilize either established fire pits or fire safe containers for all fires. In addition to reducing the risk of wildfires and protecting native plants and animals, this also prevents unintended injury from fires set on beaches as they can heat the sand below to very high temperatures which persists long after the fire is extinguished posing a threat to those walking or playing in the sand.
Aloha ʻāina. Aloha kekahi i kekahi.
— James K. Crowe, Director of Conservation Easement Stewardship, Compliance and Technology