HONOLULU (AP) — Authorities on Maui have lifted evacuation orders for locals near a wildfire that ignited late Tuesday. Police conducted door-to-door evacuations and emergency sirens went off before firefighters halted the fire’s progress.
Emergency shelters were also closing late Tuesday as residents returned home.
The blaze, which expanded to about 300 acres (40 hectares), was initially reported at 1:30 p.m. near the north shore area of Paia, officials stated. There was no estimate on containment and no immediate cause for the fire was provided.
Paia, once a sugar plantation town, is now favored by windsurfers. It’s on the opposite side of the island from Lahaina, which was devastated by a fatal wildfire in 2023.
Before the situation improved, residents were fearful of another devastating blaze.
Maui County Councilwoman Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins said her family, including her 86-year-old grandmother, had to evacuate from Paia to stay with her.
“It’s terrifying,” she expressed. “We should never have to experience the lessons of Lahaina again; it’s not something that needs repeating. From my house, I can see my hometown burning.”
Paia resident Rod Antone was trying to coordinate evacuation of his elderly parents.
“It’s nerve-wracking,” he said. “Hopefully nothing happens to the neighborhood.”
Antone was inside a county building in Wailuku, tuning in to radio updates but didn’t hear the sirens. Before the 2023 wildfire consumed Lahaina, Maui County officials did not activate sirens.
Antone pointed out that on Tuesday, the winds weren’t particularly strong, unlike in August 2023 when wind-propelled flames destroyed Lahaina and claimed 102 lives. However, like Lahaina, Paia is also surrounded by dry brush, he mentioned.
The Maui Fire Department was using two helicopters to help fight the blaze. During the Lahaina fire, helicopters were grounded due to the strong winds.
When traffic out of Paia started building, Wayne Thibaudeau decided to open a gate to give motorists an alternate evacuation route. Thibaudeau is one of the owners of Paia Sugar Mill, which closed in 2000 and is being renovated.
The route takes motorists through old sugarcane fields.
There was a steady stream of “cars packed with people” using the route, he said.
A report on the Lahaina fire said that some back roads that could have provided an alternative escape were blocked by locked gates.
