The Honolulu Fire Department is still fighting a fire that broke out early Monday morning in Mililani Mauka.
The fire department initially received a call about the fire at 5:51 a.m. Responding firefighters determined the blaze was in a mountainous area.
On Tuesday afternoon, the HFD said the blaze was approximately 700 acres in size and was 30% contained. The flames burned land belonging cooperatively to the city and state. The property borders land controlled by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
One Army Blackhawk helicopter and two fire department helicopters were fighting the blaze. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources sent a contract helicopter to assist and sent in ground personnel to secure a perimeter and conduct reconnaissance.
The U.S. Army also deployed a CH-47 Chinook helicopter capable of carrying up to 2,000 gallons of water — much more than the fire department's helicopters which are each able to carry 100 gallons.
The fire department said the fire was expanding east on the ridge above Waikakalaua Stream, away from the nearest neighborhood. Firefighting will pause overnight, but the HFD said a drone team will be on fire watch.
No structures or homes have been threatened and no evacuations have been ordered, the HFD said. There are no reports of any injuries.
But ash was falling on nearby neighborhoods and Army bases, and the smell of smoke was in the air, said U.S. Army Garrison Hawaiʻi spokesperson Michael Donnelly. Child development centers on base were keeping children indoors because of the ash and smoke, Donnelly said in an email Monday.
The nearest towns are Mililani and Wahiawa, which are about 20 miles north of Honolulu. Army installations Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Airfield are also in the vicinity.
October is the rainy season in Hawaiʻi but drought has been afflicting the entire state. The U.S. Drought Monitor said Central Oʻahu was in moderate drought as of last week.
In August, multiple wildfires scorched Maui including a blaze that killed at least 99 people and destroyed more than 2,000 structures in Lāhainā. Powerful winds related to a hurricane passing far to Hawaiʻi's south helped fuel that fire and prevented firefighters from using helicopters to tackle the blaze.
This is a developing story. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
