Polipoli Forest Fire is Pau

Very early Monday morning before dawn the strong Kona Winds brought in a line of showers that have put out the fire burning on Haleakala's south west face. In Kona Winds this side of the mountain becomes the windward side and the moist air hitting the 10,000 foot tall volcano rises and drops rain on the upcountry area.

We had rain in Kihei as well from this low pressure front. At higher elevations the rain fall totals were probably higher.















You can just make out part of the burned area on the right side of this shot. Clicking on the picture will enlarge it on another page. The darker colored upper part of the forest that burned forms a line running below and parallel to the ridge line of the mountain. This section of the forest is above the narrow band of grassland that separates the two sections of forest.

The fire burned all the way to the summit and over on the southern end. It is topped with clouds this morning from the continuing Kona Winds. More rain is expected in the next couple of days. This is the first time the volcano has appeared from under the clouds in the last 24 hours.















If you arrived via a search, a video and pictures of the Fire can be seen by clicking this link. There are other links to views of the fire on the right hand menu and a link to the Maui News too.