Firefighters battling blaze in remote portion of Hawaii's Mililani Mauka
Nov. 1 (UPI) -- A wildfire in the mountainous region above Mililani Mauka, Oahu, burned about 700 acres on Tuesday but remained in a remote portion of the island, officials said.
The Honolulu Fire Department said the blaze was 30% contained as crews called off fire operations Tuesday afternoon since the blaze became inaccessible to ground units. Fire officials said drones were used to observe the fire Tuesday night. They said that observation would continue at daybreak on Wednesday morning.
The Hawaii National Guard dropped about 45,000 gallons of water on the fire in 25 helicopter drops. Officials said they will continue to deploy helicopter water drops on Wednesday as well to keep the blaze from spreading.
While some people have reported fallen ash falling on homes and vehicles in residential areas, there are no plans to ask people to leave.
"And I know in the past when we've had incidents where we have a lot of fireworks like on New Year's, people actually sometimes relocate to other places that are less smokey," James Ireland, Honolulu Emergency Service Department director, said.
"Now, at this time, that's not being recommended. There are no evacuation orders in place. But generally, people should stay indoors and make sure they have enough medications."
The Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife said their crews observed during flyovers that the wildfire was burning in areas of heavy timber and through native vegetation, including ohia and koa trees.
