Sign of a brush fire

Smoke from a brush fire clouds the early morning sky

This is an early morning view of smoke from a brush fire burning south of Waimea. The fire started on Friday morning and high winds, up to 40 mph, caused it to grow rapidly. On Saturday, 8,000 acres were reported burned by noon and 12,000 acres at 5 pm. Sunday morning, at 11 am, that figure had jumped to 36,000 acres and by 1:30 pm was around 40,000 acres.

The fire jumped Highway 190 on Sunday afternoon, prompting an evacuation order for Waikoloa Village, a community with more than 6,000 residents. This order was later lifted as conditions changed and the immediate threat to the community eased.

As of Monday evening, the fire, while not fully contained, had at least been brought somewhat under control and its surge stopped, though a renewal of high winds could easily change all that.

Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card photo challenge. See more responses here.

8 thoughts on “Sign of a brush fire”

  1. Pingback: After the fire | Graham's Island

  2. naturebackin

    How frightening uncontrolled fire is. I am glad to read that the village was spared and I hope the fire was properly contained before the winds got going again. Uncontrollable wildfires are burning in so many countries currently …

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Graham Post author

      This was the biggest wildfire in the island’s history, but still nothing like those that have ravaged the mainland on a regular basis these last few years. This one is still burning in places, but is essentially under control now.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Graham Post author

          It is contained now, though there have been flare ups. I expect the fire department will remain in the area for a couple of weeks to make sure nothing gets out of hand again.

          Liked by 1 person

  3. bushboy

    Wow that is an amazingly scaring Last Photo. What a huge amount of destruction. Glad all are OK except the poor animals and environmental damage. Thanks for joining in Graham 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Graham Post author

      Biggest brush fire in the island’s history. I work with several people who live in Waikoloa Village and their weekend was very fraught. The fire is pretty much contained now, but it was iffy for a while.

      Liked by 1 person

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