Hawaii wildfire in Oahu threatens rare species as islands suffer another disaster

November 15, 2023 02:10 PM

Hawaii scarcely recovered from wildfires that destroyed swaths of Maui when the state had to deal with blazes again. The Mililani Mauka Fire damaged 1,681 acres and unique vegetation on Oahu Island in Honolulu County.

Despite the affected terrain being difficult to access, helicopters dropped tens of thousands of gallons of water to offset the flames. The fire was 90% contained, but smoke remains as of Tuesday.

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Oahu is home to unique species such as the Koa and ‘Ōhi’a trees and Uluhe ferns. The landscape has now turned to “a mosaic of blackened native trees interspersed with invasive ones, like Albizia,” Gov. Josh Green (D-HI) said.

Hawaii Wildfires Rainforest — This June 2023 photo, provided by JC Watson, shows a blooming ohia tree in the Upper Koolau Watershed near Mililani, Hawaii. (JC Watson via AP)

There has been an increase in wildfires in Hawaii over the last 10 years. In August, the Lahaina fire burned 735 miles, killing 99 people from the island of Maui.

Like the Lahaina fire, the “perfect storm” to create this catastrophe in Oahu was the same. Extreme drought brought on by climate change and human error. Previous fires in the area left fields barren and ripe for fire-prone invasive grasses.

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Parts of the Oahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge were destroyed. Once home to 22 endangered species, it is unknown which plants or wildlife survived. Hawaii’s native ecosystem is sensitive to natural disasters, so even a small fire has detrimental consequences.

Hawaii Oahu Wildfire — This photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources shows an Army helicopter carrying water to douse a wildfire burning east of Mililani, Hawaii, on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. A wildfire that has burned forestlands in a remote mountainous area of Central Oahu has moved eastward and away from population centers as firefighters continued to battle the blaze. (Dan Dennison/Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources via AP)

Blazing fires in Hawaii’s wetter areas is a “red flag to all of us that there is change afoot,” said Sam ‘Ohu Gon III, senior scientist and cultural adviser at The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii.