The American River Ranger District plans to pileburn up to 11 acres of handpiles starting Nov. 8, 2023 in the Placer Big Trees Grove. Legal Location: Township 14N, Range 13 E, Section 18.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   

MILILANI MAUKA WILDFIRE UPDATE 

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2023

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assumed command of the Mililani Mauka fire this morning. The fire is located in a remote, mountainous area with steep, dangerous terrain on private lands, Kamehameha Schools lands and the O‛ahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge. The fire remains 90% contained and current acreage is approximately 1,622 acres due to more accurate mapping. Acreage will continue to be refined and fluctuations in these figures do not indicate that the fire is growing or expanding in size, as there has been minimal fire activity due to recent rain received over the fire area. There was no fire growth on the fire during yesterday’s operational period.

Ground crews include an interagency hotshot crew, one wildland fire module, ten smokejumpers and two helicopter modules. There are a total of 66 personnel assigned to the fire. Significant progress has been made on securing the west, northwest and southwest portions of the fire edge, closest to Mililani Mauka. Crews will continue to identify and extinguish hot spots and improve the fire perimeter as they traverse accessible portions further around the fire perimeter in this steep and rugged terrain. 

Today’s weather will be drier than previous days with only a 40% chance of scattered showers, especially during the overnight through morning hours. 

The fire is primarily located within the O‛ahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge protects some of the last remaining intact native forest on the island and supports at least 22 federally listed species, including native plants.

For additional information, please contact 2023.mililani@firenet.gov or search for the Mililani Mauka fire on http://inciweb.nwcg.gov.

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The USDA Forest Service announced that as of 2:00 p.m. on November 8, the Sugar Bay Wildfire was estimated at 62 acres and was 90 percent contained. 

Grindstone Ranger District fire personal have successfully completed 21 acres of pile burning over the last week at Snow Basin, Pacific Ridge and Three Prong. 

On the Upper Lake Ranger District, fire personnel successfully completed 34 acres of understory burning at Howard Mill and 35 acres of pile burning in the Westshore project. 

Prescribed fire activity for the upcoming week is weather dependent, but crews are looking at continuing pile burning operations or another unit in the Howard Mill understory project if conditions are favorable.

Nov. 8, 2023—Fire crews this morning conducted a successful test fire and are continuing ignitions on the northeast half of Alamosa Unit 1.

Smoke is expected to mainly move to the east and may impact areas as far as the Taos and Moreno valleys. Check the Fire and Smoke Map to check local air quality and for protective actions.

Trail Springs and Mill Creek 2 Fires

Update: November 8, 2023

Type 4, Incident Commander Shane McCracken, 34 Personnel
 

The fire danger level is currently high, so it is important that forest users completely drown campfires to prevent unintended escape. Use the “drown, stir, feel” method to be sure it's dead out.

Trail Springs Fire | Size: 1303 Acres | Containment: 43% | Cause: Lightning

Command of both fires was transferred from the Type 3 team back to the Pagosa Ranger District. The firefighting strategy remains the same, which is to hold the fire to existing control features. Firefighters will continue to observe the fire closely and maintain the capacity to take any appropriate action, until it is no longer considered a risk. Yesterday, fire managers took a reconnaissance flight over the fires to investigate some areas of intense heat that showed up on infrared images taken the night before. They confirmed that the Trail Springs Fire has not crossed the West Fork of Devil Creek and remains within control features. Control features are any natural or constructed barriers to fire growth. These include handline and dozer line, shaded fuel breaks created along roads, sites of recent fires such as the Chris Mountain Fire scar, and bodies of water such as the West Fork of Devil Creek.

Mill Creek 2 Fire |Size: 146 Acres | Containment: 0% | Cause: Human

This fire is located in rugged, remote terrain near the border of the South San Juan Wilderness Area northeast of Pagosa Springs. Over the past 48 hours, the fire has been more active than what has been observed for the past several weeks due to prolonged dry conditions and an increase in wind. During yesterday’s recon flight, fire personnel saw that the Mill Creek 2 Fire continues to not pose a threat to any identified values. Values can include human lives, private property, infrastructure, historic and archeological sites, watersheds, and any other natural resources or human developments that have measurable or intrinsic worth.

Weather: Breezy weather and low RH values are expected to continue for the next 24-36 hours before a cooling and moderately wetter period is forecast for the fire area. 

San Juan NF Temporary Closures: An area closure is in place involving roads and trails in or near the Trail Springs Fire area (Middle Mountain area). Details of the closure are on the Trail Springs Fire InciWeb page (QR code below) and on the “Alerts and Notices” page of the forest website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/sanjuan/alerts-notices 

A Temporary Flight Restriction is in effect: https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_3_8962.html#areas

Fire Information: 970-426-5370 (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) 

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Nov. 8, 2023 — Firefighters continue to work on containing the Maid Fire on Apache Maid mountain just southeast of Interstate 17’s Stoneman Lake exit and are hopeful to reach full containment within the next several days.

The Maid Fire is currently 55% contained on the northern and eastern flanks of Apache Maid mountain, and firefighters continue to work on containing the western and southern sides of the 942-acre wildfire.

Firefighters are utilizing a full suppression strategy, and all burnout operations have been completed. As containment increases, resources will move to a monitor and patrol status in the coming days.

Fire behavior has largely been moderate but continues to smolder in remaining heavy dead and down fuels, and limited pockets of leaf litter. Occasional increases in intensity are observed as the fire creeps into available fuels.

Resources on scene include three crews, three engines, and a medic team, equating to 88 personnel. Depending on fire activity, this wildfire can be very visible to surrounding areas such as Camp Verde, Sedona and Rimrock, as well as those driving along Interstate 17 between the mileposts of 285-310.

The immediate area around the wildfire is under a closure order, which can be viewed on the 2023 Maid Fire Inciweb site online, where details about the wildfire are updated daily.

The human-caused wildfire was first reported at 5:11 a.m. on November 4 by a member of the public.

TRANSITION OF COMMAND OF THE MILILANI MAUKA WILDFIRE
UPDATE: The Mililani Mauka Incident Management Team has suspended operations at the wildland fire 
above Mililani Mauka due to impending darkness. The fire continues to burn in a remote, mountainous 
area with steep, dangerous terrain on private lands and within the Oʻahu Forest National Wildlife 
Refuge. The fire is 90% contained; only isolated smoldering pockets remain. At this time, there 
have been no reports of injuries. For the duration of the incident, no evacuations or threats to 
structures and homes are expected.

The majority of the involved area is within the Oʻahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge, managed by 
the U.S. Fire and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Due to diminished fire activity and no current threat 
to the Mililani Mauka community, command of the incident will transition from unified command with 
Honolulu Fire Department to the USFWS.

The HFD is committed to serving and protecting the community and will, thus, remain available to 
support the USFWS if the fire situation changes.

The significant progress that has been made in the mitigation of the incident is due to the 
collective effort of Federal, State and City agencies. Mahalo to all of our partner agencies and 
community for their continued support.

This will be the last news release distributed by the Honolulu Fire Department for the Mililani 
Mauka Wildfire. Please direct all future media inquiries for this incident to
2023.mililani@firenet.gov or visit inciweb.nwcg.gov
 

UPDATE: The Mililani Mauka Incident Management Team (IMT) resumed fire suppression operations this morning to continue mitigation efforts at the wildland fire above Mililani Mauka. The fire is located in a remote, mountainous area with steep, dangerous terrain on private lands, Kamehameha Schools lands and the O‛ahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge. The fire is currently 90% contained and current acreage is approximately 1,638 acres due to more accurate mapping. Acreage will continue to be refined and fluctuations in these figures do not indicate that the fire is growing or expanding in size, as there has been minimal fire activity during recent operational periods. 

There is currently one Hawaiʻi Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter, one Hawaiʻi Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook aircraft, and one United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) contracted helicopter. Ground crews include an interagency hotshot crew, one wildland fire module, ten smokejumpers and two helicopter modules. There are a total of 85 personnel assigned to the fire. The Honolulu Fire Department and Department of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) continue to assist with support staff and personnel. 

The fire area has received close to an inch of rain since Sunday evening and there remains an 80% chance of rain today as the trade winds continue. During the Red Flag Warning on Sunday night, the fire crossed Kῑpapa Stream and Kῑpapa Trail and was detected late Monday afternoon when visibility improved. This portion of fire was not actively growing any longer due to the rainfall Sunday night. Smokejumpers were inserted to the area and were able to extinguish hot spots close to the fire perimeter. Work will continue to minimize fire spread on the east and southeastern portion of the fire edge, in order to prevent further impacts to the Oahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge. The O‛ahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge protects some of the last remaining intact native forest on the island and supports at least 22 federally listed species, including native plants.

There are no reports of any injuries, no structures or homes have been threatened and no evacuations have been ordered at this time.