Hawaii
Nearly a year after Maui wildfire disaster, Haiku community celebrates its first fire station
HAIKU (HawaiiNewsNow) – As the one-year anniversary of the Maui wildfires approaches, the growing community of Haiku is closer to getting its first fire station.
Long-time Haiku resident and local reggae musician Marty Dread walked around the vacant lot on Maui’s North Shore on Thursday. He is excited knowing what it will become.
“My home is less than two miles from here, and knowing that a fire station would be closer to my neighborhood is really exciting for me because, you know, with the events of the last year, with fires and everything, I mean, I’m sure every one of my neighbors would be ecstatic to know that help is closer than Paia or Makawao, which is another add another 15-20 minutes,” he said.
Maui Wildfires Disaster
Currently, the closest fire station is in Paia, which about seven miles away.
“We’re happy to partner with the county and provide many millions of dollars to get this done,” said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.
“We’ve got a long way to go statewide, but particularly in Maui Nui to make sure we’re prepared for increasing wildfires.”
Schatz said he is close to securing about $16 million to build a nearly 8,000 square foot station on six-acres near Hana Highway and East Kuiaha Road.
The need for a station in the town of 9,000 people has been talked about for years.
Schatz said the growing population in Haiku, prevalence of wooden structures… and the high risk of wildfires underscore the urgent need for the new station.
“We think this can get done very quickly. Of course, the federal funding still has to be enacted. This is a subcommittee part of the process, but we’re reasonably confident that once we get the money into the county’s hands, that they’re going to move forward. It’s county property,” he said.
“They’ve been planning this for a number of years. Obviously, the urgency is way higher than it ever has been, given the wildfires that happened about a year ago in Maui.”
Total cost of the station is about $28 million. The county is covering the difference.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Hawaii NFL quarterbacks from the same high school to face off for the first time
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii-born NFL quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Marcus Mariota will face off against each other for the first time ever.
The Miami Dolphins take on the Washington Commanders this Sunday in Spain.
It’s believed to be the first time two QBs from the same Hawaii high school will play against each other.
The two St. Louis alums are five years apart.
“For us, Tua and myself, we grew up in the middle of the Pacific, far away from here,” Mariota said in a press conference. “The fact of the matter is, we get a chance to be a part of this game is very special, and I don’t take that for granted at all.”
“I was a big fan of him, still am, just of the person that he is outside of the player,” Tagovailoa said. “Just happy for his success. I know he’s been going through ebbs and flows throughout years and teams, but if you get to know the kind of person he is, the playing and whatnot is second.”
Kick off in Madrid is set for 4:30 a.m. Hawaii time on the NFL Network.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Russian military spy ship tracked by U.S. Coast Guard just 15 miles off Hawaii coast
The U.S. Coast Guard said it detected and tracked a Russia military spy ship just miles off the coast of Hawaii, the latest incident of a Russian vessel or plane operating close to the U.S.
The Russian intelligence vessel, Kareliya, was spotted about 15 nautical miles south of Oahu on Oct. 29, the Coast Guard said Thursday.
An HC-130 Hercules helicopter and a Coast Guard cutter were dispatched to monitor the ship by “conducting a safe and professional overflight and transiting near the vessel,” officials said.
The Coast Guard, which released a photo of the ship, said it is still tracking the vessel’s movement near U.S. waters “to provide maritime security for U.S. vessels operating in the area and to support U.S. homeland defense efforts.”
“The U.S. Coast Guard routinely monitors maritime activity around the Hawaiian Islands and throughout the Pacific to ensure the safety and security of U.S. waters,” Capt. Matthew Chong said in a statement.
International law allows foreign military ships to transit outside other nations’ territorial seas, which extend up to 12 nautical miles from shore.
The Coast Guard said the Kareliya is a Vishnya-class intelligence vessel, which were built for the Soviet Navy in the 1980s. There are seven such ships still in service with the Russian Navy, according to the U.S. Army.
The Kareliya was also spotted off Hawaii in 2021, USNI News reported at the time. In 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard also tracked a Russian ship near the Hawaiian Islands that was believed to be gathering intelligence.
Earlier this year, British officials said the Royal Navy was monitoring a Russian spy ship operating in U.K. waters. British Defense Secretary John Healey told Parliament the vessel was being “used for gathering intelligence and mapping the U.K.’s critical underwater infrastructure.”
“I also wanted President Putin to hear this message: We see you, we know what you’re doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country,” he told lawmakers.
Russian spy planes are also routinely spotted off the U.S., particularly inside the Alaskan identification zone. The zone begins where U.S. territory ends off the coast of Alaska, and aircraft from other countries are required to identify themselves to the U.S. and Canada when they enter. Russian military activity in the zone is common and not considered a threat, according to NORAD.
However, in September 2024, NORAD posted dramatic video of a Russian jet flying “within just a few feet” of NORAD aircraft off the coast of Alaska. At the time, a U.S. general said “the conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all.”
Hawaii
Video shows ‘ash tornado’ spinning around erupting Kilauea volcano in Hawaii
Ash ‘tornado’ forms next to volcano in Hawaii
An ash “tornado” formed next to Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano as it erupted.
A funnel cloud of spinning ash was caught on camera over the weekend, whirling around an eruption from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii.
Kilauea, located in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, experienced a five-hour eruptive episode on Sunday, Nov. 9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with lava fountains spewing up to 1,000-1,100 feet into the air.
Video captured by a bystander shows a cloud of ash twisting into a tornado-like funnel, nicknamed a “volnado,” emerging from Kilauea’s 36th episode of an eruption that began in December 2024.
Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, NPS says
Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and the most active on Hawaiʻi Island, according to the National Park Service. It first formed roughly 280,000 years ago and grew above sea level about 100,000 years ago, erupting dozens of times since 1952.
“Volnados” are wind vortexes or whirlwinds created by the “chaotic and turbulent mixing of hot and cold air” during eruption, according to USGS.
Hot rising air lifts ash and dust into the atmosphere to spin at high speed, often picking up potentially hazardous materials along the way, including hot lava, pieces of crust and Pele’s hair, or strands of volcanic glass.
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