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Saddle Road fire update for Wednesday (Aug 25)

HAWAII COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE MEDIA RELEASE

POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA (PTA), Hawaii- Saddle Road is open with detours at mile marker 29 directing traffic to the old Saddle Road and re-routing back to the new Saddle Road at mile marker 34.5 near Mauna Kea State Park.

The Mauna Kea State Park is closed to public access. The wildfire at the U.S. Army’s Pohakuloa Training Area has now consumed an estimated 1,350 acres and remains at 55% contained. It continues to spread on the northern slopes of Mauna Kea East of mile marker 32 on Saddle Road, while firebreaks have successfully been dug on the fire’s east and west flanks. Saddle Road is providing a firebreak to the south.

A total of four helicopters remain on the scene today fighting the fire. Approximately 85 firefighters continue to battle the blaze. No structures have been burned and no injuries to firefighters have occurred. The fire began sometime approximately 9:30 a.m. Sunday about a 1/4 mile east of PTA’s main gate in the vicinity of Mauna Kea State Park.

No Army training activity was taking place on the eastside of Saddle Road at that time. For more information, call Mike Egami, at 808-656-3152 or Cell 387-8511 or Dennis Drake at 808-656-3154 or Cell 226-2706.

UPDATED MEDIA RELEASE 8/25/10 at 6:23 p.m.

HILO — State, county and federal fire fighting teams now numbering 110 continued to fight the Mauna Kea fire along Saddle Road, now in its fourth day. Mauna Kea State Recreation Area remains closed until further notice.

In the air, 5 military and charter helicopters continued water drops to help prevent spread of the fire and address flare-ups in the burn area, which includes area designated as critical habitat for native Hawaiian endangered species.

Today, crews also continued work with bulldozers to improve the fire control line on both the west and east sides of the fire. Mop-up continued on the fire perimeter.

Roger Imoto, DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife Hawaii branch manager said “If the weather stays the same, there is a good chance we can continue to make progress. But there is still a very real threat that if the wind should pick up, the fire could take off again into critical habitat for endangered palila forest birds.”

The bulk of the manpower are hand crews working in steep terrain that is inaccessible to bulldozers and where the fire is as yet uncontained.

Fire fighting night operations will continue on the ground again tonight, with mop up and patrols driving along the fire break to make sure no spot fires jump the firebreak line.

Burn area acreage has been revised to 1,386 acres with 60% containment. The National Weather Service is providing spot-weather forecasts for the incident. Today at 2:30 p.m. relative humidity was 60%, temperature 65 degrees and winds 2-5 mph out of the west.

A section of the old Saddle Road alignment has been reopened to traffic to avoid the fire area. The public is urged to drive with caution due to fire vehicles leaving the Mauna Kea State Recreation Area and Pohakuloa Training Area base.

Resources fighting the fire

  • 5 helicopters = 3 Army (1 Sea Stallion, 2 Blackhawks)
  • Plus 2 contracted civilian helicopters

Total personnel: 110 are on scene, representing resources from

  • Hawaii County Fire Department (6)
  • Pohakuloa Training Area (24)
  • US Army 35th Brigade, 25th Infantry (20)
  • DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (44)
  • Div. of State Parks (2)
  • National Parks Service (8)
  • Private contractors (6 includes bulldozer operators)

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