HONOLULU (AP) - A fire intentionally set by the Army to clear
training areas in Makua Valley was burning out of control on
Wednesday, covering three times the area intended, the Mary said.
As of midday, about 2,500 acres had burned, covering more than
half the military reservation on northwest Oahu, which has been the
subject of an environmental lawsuit.
The Army had planned a controlled burn of no more than 900 acres
Tuesday morning on land used for live-fire training, officials
said.
In announcing its plans, the Army said it had considered the
area's drought conditions and decided that timing was ideal because
"burns are more successful when conditions are dry."
But three hours later winds kicked up and the fire began to
spread. Witnesses said the fire swept through neighboring
Kahanahaiki Valley and shot up the north valley wall to Peacock
Flats.
The fire also jumped Farrington Highway in two places Tuesday,
stopping only at the sand on Makua Beach, said Waianae resident
William Aila Jr.
"Of the three valleys that make up Makua Military reservation,
I would say 70 percent is either burned or currently burning,
including all the way up to ridges where several areas of
biological concerns - endangered species - have been burned," he
said.
A sudden change in the speed and direction of the wind may have
caused the fire to burn out of control, said Capt. Steve Wollman, a
spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division.
The Army, Federal Fire Department and Honolulu Fire Department
were working to control the fire. Army helicopters were dumping
water on the blaze.
The fire brought angry reaction from community activists who
have opposed military use of the valley.
A coalition led by the American Friends Service Committee said
the fire destroyed many acres of habitat for native plants and
animals and may have killed or harmed critically endangered
species.
Kyle Kajihiro, a spokesman for the group, called the fire "a
disaster."
The group is calling for the military to end its training in
Makua and clean up and restore all "contaminated sites to the
safest possible level."
The Waianae Coast community group Malama Makua noted that
another "controlled" burn in June 1995 charred hundreds of acres
in Makua Valley.
"The Army said it couldn't possibly happen again, that they had
made improvements in firefighting. But this is even worse," the
group said in a statement.
The group said an October 2001 court order it obtained requires
the Army to prepare a comprehensive environmental impact statement
for live-fire training and related activities at Makua, such as
controlled burns.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
training areas in Makua Valley was burning out of control on
Wednesday, covering three times the area intended, the Mary said.
As of midday, about 2,500 acres had burned, covering more than
half the military reservation on northwest Oahu, which has been the
subject of an environmental lawsuit.
The Army had planned a controlled burn of no more than 900 acres
Tuesday morning on land used for live-fire training, officials
said.
In announcing its plans, the Army said it had considered the
area's drought conditions and decided that timing was ideal because
"burns are more successful when conditions are dry."
But three hours later winds kicked up and the fire began to
spread. Witnesses said the fire swept through neighboring
Kahanahaiki Valley and shot up the north valley wall to Peacock
Flats.
The fire also jumped Farrington Highway in two places Tuesday,
stopping only at the sand on Makua Beach, said Waianae resident
William Aila Jr.
"Of the three valleys that make up Makua Military reservation,
I would say 70 percent is either burned or currently burning,
including all the way up to ridges where several areas of
biological concerns - endangered species - have been burned," he
said.
A sudden change in the speed and direction of the wind may have
caused the fire to burn out of control, said Capt. Steve Wollman, a
spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division.
The Army, Federal Fire Department and Honolulu Fire Department
were working to control the fire. Army helicopters were dumping
water on the blaze.
The fire brought angry reaction from community activists who
have opposed military use of the valley.
A coalition led by the American Friends Service Committee said
the fire destroyed many acres of habitat for native plants and
animals and may have killed or harmed critically endangered
species.
Kyle Kajihiro, a spokesman for the group, called the fire "a
disaster."
The group is calling for the military to end its training in
Makua and clean up and restore all "contaminated sites to the
safest possible level."
The Waianae Coast community group Malama Makua noted that
another "controlled" burn in June 1995 charred hundreds of acres
in Makua Valley.
"The Army said it couldn't possibly happen again, that they had
made improvements in firefighting. But this is even worse," the
group said in a statement.
The group said an October 2001 court order it obtained requires
the Army to prepare a comprehensive environmental impact statement
for live-fire training and related activities at Makua, such as
controlled burns.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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