NEW YORK: Around 460 acres have burned in a wildfire that has devastated a rare native forest on the island of Oahu, according to Hawaiian state officials.
As of Friday afternoon the fire, in the Kipapa drainage situated above Mililani Mauka, had been around 40 percent contained according to Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources. A lack of roads and the steep, unforgiving terrain have limited firefighting efforts to airborne methods, with the flames being doused by a trio of contracted helicopters that are working to drop water on the fire from above. In addition, DLNR says that a cadre of federal firefighters with specific training in suppressing wildfires have responded to the emergency, flying in from the Big Island to aid local efforts.
The fire has taken a rather sizable chunk out of the almost 5,000 acre Oahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge, a forest that provides much-needed habitat for endangered and threatened species of plants, birds and tree snails. Largely uninhabited, the region has no structures that are threatened by the fire; the refuge, which is overseen by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, provides much-needed protection for Oahu watersheds, allowing rainfall to recharge the aquifer slowly.
The damage a wildfire can do to native forests can spread far beyond the burn site due to soil erosion into streams and reefs. Invasive plant species are often the first to re-colonize the site of a wildfire, hindering the regrowth of native vegetation; in addition, both plant species are usually adapted to survive fire after burning, leading to an escalating cycle of wildfires that could have a serious impact on the surrounding ecosystems, according to environmental scientists.
