kcerizo@mauinews.com
Mahi Ponoâs fields in Central Maui. Multiple crops are being grown on lands formerly used for sugar cane. â The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
PUUNENE Wind. Drought. Pests. Farming in Central Maui already holds a unique set of challenges. Add a global pandemic and agriculture operations are tested in a whole new way.
So Mahi Pono, the largest agriculture company on Maui, has made key changes to its operations in light of coronavirus.
The pandemic affected everything from shipping costs a 46 percent increase in Young Brothers rates took effect last year to in-field work that needed COVID-19 safety protocols. Restaurants and hotels major markets for local produce closed, causing the company to look at the type and scale of its crops.
Dec 27, 2020
As of 12:40 p.m., contraflow has begun on Pulehu Road while the Maui County Fire Department respond to a brush fire at Kula Agriculture Park, according to the Maui Police Department Facebook page.
The Fire Department said they were notified at 9:48 a.m. of a fire incident and Pulehu Road was closed by 10:35 a.m. in both directions from Holopuni down to just north Kulakula due to a brush fire that has grown to 7 acres in size. Residents are asked to avoid the park area and Pulehu Road as much as possible.
Fire control is ongoing.
dgrossman@mauinews.com
Fire crews patrol Olowalu Village Road which was lined with charred trees and burned grass Sunday afternoon from a brush fire that covered about 760 acres. The Maui News / DAKOTA GROSSMAN photos
OLOWALU An Olowalu brush fire that charred around 760 acres, caused home evacuations, destroyed a church and caused road closures over the weekend is just about burned out.
By late afternoon Sunday, the brush fire in West Maui was considered 95 percent contained as ground crews continued monitoring and securing the fire perimeter while air support made water drops on inaccessible areas, according to the Maui County Fire Department.