Hawaii's Haleakala fire continues to blaze as memory of 2023 Maui wildfire lingers

A brush fire in Hawaii fanned by high winds raced through more than 500 acres within hours, forcing closure of Maui's Haleakala National Park on Thursday while residents of the picturesque island continue to grapple with fallout from last year's historic blaze − the nation's most deadly wildfire in more than a century.

Fire officials said the current fire was sweeping southeast, driven by 40 mph winds. No homes had burned, but authorities issued an alert at 3 a.m. local time warning area residents to prepare for possible evacuation orders. Dozens of firefighters and tankers were battling the flames, and the county website was providing residents with updates on the fire's spread.

"The safety of our community is our top priority, and we need your cooperation to ensure everyone's well being," the Maui Fire Department said in its alert.

Fires have become a common occurence in Hawaii, which ranks among the states most at risk for wildfires, according to the tracking website wildfirerisk.org. Clay Trauernicht, a ecosystem fire scientist at the University of Hawaii, says Hawaii has key ingredients for wildfires: drought, human-caused ignitions, and lowland areas dominated by nonnative, fire-prone grasses.

"These fuels expanded as money moved from plantations and ranches to tourism and real estate," Trauernicht said in a social media post late last year.

More: Track latest wildfires, red flag warnings across the US

Community of Lahaina was destroyed

The combination brought unbearable tragedy to Maui last August, when a burst of wildfires resulted in more than 100 deaths and nearly $6 billion in damages. The primary blaze, in the coastal community of Lahaina, destroyed more than 2,700 homes, businesses and other structures.

Hawaiian Electric has aknowledged that its downed power lines ignited dry grasses, starting a blaze that was doused in the area that day. But the utility blames Maui County for the tragedy, saying the county failed to control invasive vegetation and bungled the emergency response.

The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said this week it was completing its report on the cause of the fire and will send its findings to the Maui Fire Department.

"We recognize the importance of sharing this information with the public, and plan to release our cause and origin report as soon as we receive and integrate ATF's findings,” Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura said Wednesday.

Rebuilding of Lahaina to start soon

Last month, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen signed off on a county budget that provides aid for some of those displaced after the 2023 August wildfires. The county has begun a "daunting journey (for) survivors of the most complex natural disaster in Hawaii’s history," Bissen said.

Gov. Josh Green, in a briefing Wednesday updating the recovery effort, said 89% of the debris has been removed from Lahaini and the figure could be as high as 97% by the one-year mark. Rebuilding will begin soon and 25 building permits already have been approved.

All but 62 of the more than 3,000 displaced families are now living in long-term housing and the last ones should be soon, Green said. The state has spent more than $400 million on the recovery effort, the federal government almost $3 billion, he added.

"We are less than a month till the one year anniversary," Green said. "And what it will be is a celebration of their resiliency and recovery in Maui."

How did the wildfires start in Maui? A combination of factors fueled disaster

The 2023 Maui fire was actually multiple fires

The fires ignited Aug. 8 as a brush fire in the Maui Upcountry, an area of hills and volcanic mountains near the middle Hawaii's second largest island. A second fire sparked outside the coastal town of Lahaina hours later but was reported as fully contained a few hours later. But wind gusts fueled by Hurricane Dora, hundreds of miles away, fanned the fire that encircled Lahaina.

Then gusting winds from Hurricane Dora, which passed the Hawaiian Islands hundreds of miles to the south, fanned the brush fires back to life. Amid the chaos, many residents of Lahaina didn’t realize they were surrounded by flames as the escape routes became impassable due to the thick smoke and intense heat of the fire.

Litigation from the 2023 fires could be resolved soon

A Maui County Council committee on Tuesday sent to the full council a proposed settlement that could resolve all claims and lawsuits over 2023 wildfires. The settlement, which could go to a vote as early as next week, could involve more than 450 lawsuits filed by almost 2,000 people and hundreds of businesses and other groups. Maui County, Hawaiian Electric and the state are among defendants.

The county recently filed suit against cellular carriers, saying they failed to notify police of widespread service outages during the fire. The county says it would have used means other than text messages to alert residents of the impending disaster.

Haleakala National Park

Haleakala National Park extends for more than 50 square miles from the 10,023 foot summit of the dormant Haleakala volcano down the southeast flank of the mountain to the Kipahulu coast near the small town of Hana. The Crater of Haleakala is a major tourist attraction in the park, which also features waterfalls and a bamboo forest. The National Park Service website notes that the last place to get gas in route to the Summit Area of the park is in the town of Pukalani.

"There are no charging stations for electric vehicles at Haleakalā National Park," the website warns. "Even electric vehicles with a full charge have been unable to make it to the Summit."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Haleakala fire spreads rapidly, forcing national park closure