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The Maui News
A massive brush fire in West Maui remains at 2,100 acres and 40 percent containment, a Maui Fire Department official confirmed Sunday evening.
Crews have been fighting the blaze since Tuesday morning after it started in the area near Kauaula Valley and quickly spread along the hillside above Lahaina.
Maui Fire Department helicopter crews -- Air Two, Three and Four -- continued making water drops in hard-to-reach areas of the West Maui Mountains on Saturday, according to the county, adding that rainfall had provided some relief in upper areas of the fire.
Meanwhile, MFD ground crews concentrated their containment work on the fire's makai perimeter, where the area is accessible to firefighting vehicles, the county said. Also assisting were three crews of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Forestry and Wildlife, which worked burn areas at Kauaula, Kanaha and above the Lahainaluna "L."
The Maui Emergency Management Agency, meanwhile, has stood down from its earlier partial activation, as there continued to be no immediate threat to homes or other structures, the county said Saturday.
The possibility of evacuations or road closures remained very minimal on Saturday because the fire was burning in remote, inaccessible areas. Recent rainfall and fire breaks have kept the fire from spreading.
MFD reported no change in the extent of the fire at 2,100 acres, with 40 percent containment as of Saturday. Fire Services Chief Rylan Yatsushiro said the numbers remained the same as of Sunday night, with a possible update expected this morning.