Another brush fire

A brush fire at Lapakahi on the North Kohala coast, Hawaii
A brush fire at Lapakahi on the North Kohala coast, Hawaii

I was driving home yesterday when I noticed some haze blowing out to sea. I thought it was rain at first, but quickly realized that this was smoke, likely another brush fire, and my heart sank. I was halfway home. Up ahead was Lapakahi and beyond that, Mahukona, two places I spend a lot of time at.

As I got closer I saw that the fire was burning at Lapakahi. Traffic was still passing on the highway though the land beside it was black and smoking. But strong trade winds had blown the fire, which apparently started near the park entrance, down towards the ocean.

A brush fire at Lapakahi on the North Kohala coast, Hawaii

My guess is the fire had been going less than an hour when I got there, though a considerable area had already burned. Fires were burning along the north edge of the area, not far from the road, but the most smoke and bigger flames could be seen closer to the ocean. It looked like the small visitor center had escaped, surrounded as it is by the looping access road. But other structures might not have been so lucky, and the native plants, birds and insects probably did not fare well.

A brush fire at Lapakahi on the North Kohala coast, Hawaii
A brush fire at Lapakahi on the North Kohala coast, Hawaii
A brush fire at Lapakahi on the North Kohala coast, Hawaii

14 thoughts on “Another brush fire”

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      Fire is part of nature, though this one was probably caused by human carelessness. It wasn’t big, but sad for me to see this particular spot burning.

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    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      They can happen year round, the most occurring during dry spells. It’s very dry on this stretch of coast so liable to burn easily, and the strong winds made it travel quickly.

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    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      There aren’t many people living in that area so that was never an issue. And you’re right, it will grow back. A bigger fire last year, farther down the coast, is already greening up well.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      It looked like there were hot spots when I drove by this morning, but this afternoon it all seemed to be done. The fire department will have people down there for a few days top make sure there are no flare ups.

      Liked by 1 person

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