Lava-Sparked Hawaii Wildfire Mostly Contained

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A lava-sparked brush fire on the Big Island of Hawaii is 80 percent contained.

The fire has consumed more than 2,000 acres of brush land and threatened a protected forest that was home to species found only in Hawaii including endangered Hawaiian bats, happy face spiders, carnivorous caterpillars and Hawaiian honeycreepers, parks service officials said.

Specialized firefighters from western U.S. states had flown in to help put out the blaze, which was located in a remote area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The fire began on March 13, sparked by molten lava spewing from the new Kamoamoa fissure at Kilauea Volcano, which had opened up on March 5. The brush fire burned uncontrolled for weeks, made worse by gusty trade winds last week. A 24-hour rain event late last week aided firefighters’ efforts.

Read it at Big Island Video News.

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