Cane Fire Light

I recently posted a pic of a cane fire a few days ago.  It looked pretty neat due to the fact that it took place during the early morning hours.  Well today there was another cane fire in what looked to me like the same location as the previous fire.    As I got closer and closer, what struck me immediately is the noise.  If you ever experience this on Maui, get as close as prudence dictates, roll down your windows, turn off the radio, and listen.

Who would of thought a burning fire makes so much noise!  Crackling, crunching, popping etc.  Add to the mix the suffocating stench of burning sugarcane and the hazy smoke filled air and I experience flashbacks of certain legendary scenes from Apocalypse Now.   As I drive closer, soon my entire truck is engulfed in the smoke and I see little black flecks and ash - aka - black snow, that covers the hood of my Nissan.   Who knows what else is burned in there!  Someone once told me that all kinds of stuff is set ablaze unintentionally, like PVC pipe and ferile cats...

Here's a shot taken higher up from the same road (Oma'opio Rd):

So the cane is burned and it leaves that giant red patch of dirt resembling an enormous baseball infield.  How do you get the now burnt sugarcane to the sugar mill for processing?



With a BIG-ASS truck.

I don't actually know the name of this beast, but I'd think once you're in the driver's seat, you'd feel pretty powerful.  This driver let me pass before he crossed the road and raced to scene of the blaze, like a fire truck on steroids (hey, this monster is yellow too)!  Time is money, and these giants move surprisingly fast.

Cane Fire Dark

In order to process the sugarcane, HC&S needs to burn the sugarcane plants first.  That's right, even in this day and age, we still burn our crops...  A lot of the burning is done at night or during the early morning hours, which minimizes smoke inhalation and interference with the general public.  The burning of the cane is a cause of major controversy among locals, and the smell, smoke, and "black snow" - the airborne ash that carries for miles and covers everything, are a real nuisance at times.  However, when you get to see it burn and marvel at how HC&S keeps the fire from spreading, it's kinda neat.

I captured an image of a cane fire on my way to work today.

The Last Sugar Mill

Located at the geographic heart of the Valley Isle, the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. sugar mill rests at Puunene in central Maui.  The HC&S plant processes plants from 37,000 acres of commercially harvested sugarcane.

Maui is nearing the end of an era, a time once rich with plantation life and pineapple and sugar production.  The only way to save the sugar jobs of 800 Maui residents may mean to halt sugar production altogether.  It was recently announced that sugarcane operations may transform into biomass production for use as alternative bio-fuels.

I love the brown sugar produced here.  The turbinado is served in coffeehouses and restaurants all over Maui as an alternative to the processed white stuff.  I'd hate to see it go.

Here are a series of shots of the sugar mill taken this morning during sunrise.

Across the Fields

Old Man Crane

The Intersection

Lights Still On

Smokestack

For the full story on future HC&S operations, please visit: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/530285.html?nav=10