Keauhou Fire Now 90% Contained

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park reports that cooler weather, a afternoon cloud cover and rain helped firefighters Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, on Hawaiʻi Island. The Keauhou Fire is now 90% contained, still at 3,739 acres on the northeastern slopes of Mauna Loa, and mostly within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

The Keauhou fire is now about 90% contained. Click to enlarge. PC: HVNP

Firefighters continued to protect the Kīpukakī and Kīpukapuaulu Special Ecological Areas, cultural heritage areas and rare forest habitat for endangered species.

Firefighters worked along the Mauna Loa Road with park biologists to carefully fall a limited number of trees that became hazards from the fire. By proactively taking down these trees, the area becomes not only safer for firefighters, but also for the park’s resource advisors and scientists who are studying the fire area and the long-term effects.

After six days in command, Southern California Incident Management Team Two is turning the fire back to the park Thursday. Firefighters and rangers are thankful for the continued support from the community.

The Keauhou Fire may be visible from Highway 11, especially for Hilo (east) bound traffic, but is not impacting the road or travel. Mauna Loa Road and most of the park have been closed since May 11 due to hazardous seismic activity.

The 2018 Wildfire LOOKOUT! campaign starts this week across Hawaiʻi. Did you know 99 percent of wildfires in Hawai‘i are started by people? You can help protect our ‘āina and learn how to be fire safe by visiting online.