West Maui Flare Up

Just when we all thought the West Maui wildfire was dying down, there was a flare up this afternoon at about 1:30PM above the Kamehameha Golf Course.

Over 60 hours after the fire began, the fierce winds stoked the flames and two MFD helicopters were busy dumping water on the blaze in an effort to extinguish it.

It was amazing to see how large the fire appeared to be in relation to the helicopters and their tiny water buckets.  The dumping of water seemed to have little to no immediate effect on the flames.  I guess over a period of hours the water must win, but from where I parked on the Honoapi'ilani Highway staring through my 300mm (450mm full-frame equivalent) telephoto lens, the helicopters looked like scurrying dragonflies spitting on an inferno.

Did you know it costs $420 per hour to operate the fire helicopters?  It's ironic because in April the Maui County Council wanted to short the Maui fire department $90,000 from the original $825,000 the MFD requested for the helicopter budget.  Find story here.

A massive MAHALO to all the firefighters, police officers, rescue workers, and volunteers involved in this monumental undertaking.

All the shots in this post were taken around 2:15PM this afternoon.

View from Kuihelani Highway

View from Honoapi'ilani Highway