Wake up and smell the smoke

Strong winds fan a fire near Kawaihae on the Big Island, Hawaii

Yesterday morning, around 4:30, I got a text alerting me to a brush fire burning alongside the road I take to work. It said the road would be closed for two to three hours. This was not a good way to start the day! It meant I’d have to take the road over Kohala Mountain.

When I headed out, the wind was howling and the mountain road was strewn with tree debris, including some sizable branches. Farther along, I noticed a cloud of smoke ahead of me in the vicinity of Waimea. For a few moments, I thought this new fire was burning around the alternate route I was taking, but I saw it was a bit farther away than that. This fire was quickly contained, but the first one is still going strong as I write, with people living in the area being evacuated for safety.

The fires were a byproduct of the passage of Hurricane Dora, well to the south of Hawaii, but still a major hurricane. Its passage caused very strong, but dry trade winds over the island, which exacerbated conditions in some already drought-hit areas. It was no surprise that fires broke out and that, once they did, they quickly got out of hand.

The top photo looks up the coast toward the fire, later in the day. The burning area is in the distance with smoke billowing out over the water. In front of that is a cloud of brown dirt being blown from the dry gullies of the hillside on the right. In the foreground is a smaller, pale cloud of sand being blown from the beach in Kawaihae Harbor.

The bottom photo is a view of the fire near Waimea. When I stopped the car to take photos, the wind was blowing so hard I could barely open the door. That same wind buffeted me around so that, despite propping myself against a rail, I couldn’t keep the camera still enough to get a sharp photo!

Strong winds fan a fire near Waimea on the Big Island, Hawaii

23 thoughts on “Wake up and smell the smoke”

  1. Pingback: The other side of the road | Graham's Island

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      The Big Island got off lightly. The fires here threatened, but ended up doing little damage to any property and no one was hurt. It’s been awful on Maui though. Lahaina has been pretty much wiped out and more than 50 people killed.

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    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      It was inconvenient and potentially damaging at times on the Big Island, but Maui has had terrible damage to property and life. A very sad situation there.

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    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      Not many had to evacuate here, thankfully. It’s a different story on Maui where the fires have raged out of control and damage has been extensive.

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    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      Yes, the Maui situation is awful, totally out of control fires. We’ve been lucky by comparison with the current fires now contained with minimal damage.

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    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      It was a bit dicey for a couple of days, but it’s pretty much under control now here, and it’s nothing like what’s happening on Maui where there’s been a huge amount of destruction.

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    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      Not sure what happened here Terri. This comment just showed up! The Big Island got off lightly compared to Maui, where the destruction of life and property has been awful.

      Liked by 1 person

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