HONOLULU (KHON2) — The windy weather makes things difficult for firefighters across the state, who battled multiple brush fires right before Thanksgiving week.
Heading into what is normally Hawaii’s wet season John Bravender, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said “We are pretty dry going into this, and one of the things that we’re seeing now, in addition to the dry fuel, fueling the fires, also very strong winds and very dry air. When you get those combined together, then you can have some extreme fire behavior and any little fire could get inflamed to a big brush fire.”
The National Weather Service said because of this weather, leeward sides are especially getting hit hard.
“Even if we do get a wetter wet season, it’s not necessarily going to help alleviate the drought and alleviate the dry conditions across the leeward sections, and those are the areas that we’re seeing the wildfires recently.” said John Bravender.
There are things you can do to protect your home if a fire gets close when living in a dry area. Eric Moller, Hawaii County Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief, said “The biggest thing I would say is to maintain your yard and make sure that you keep your grass levels down. Try to keep trees and vegetation away from directly next to your house, and make sure you don’t have bushes that allow fires that may be on the ground and get up into the trees.”
Fire departments want to emphasize going into the holidays to be aware of your surroundings when celebrating. “We’re coming up on thanksgiving turkey frying, clear your brush as far away from your home as possible.” Said Carl Otsuka, HFD Fire Inspector.
HFD provides tips for safety.
They said to be careful when using fireworks as well.
