Department of Defense

In June, the Guard and State Civil Defense assisted Maui county officials in extinguishing a fire which destroyed 12,500 acres on Molokai.

– 1991 Annual Report pp. 1

Brigade soldiers were activated in July to assist the Hawaii and Maui county governments during the solar eclipse and in August to help fight the Molokai fire.

– 1991 Annual Report pp. 9

Fire outbreak on Molokai. The wildland fire was one of the worst recorded for the island of Molokai. The fire started on June 21, 1991. It was contained for three days before flaring up again. Sporadic winds fanned its spread, and by the time the fire was extinguished on June 28, nearly 13,000 acres of land had burned, including nearly 6,000 acres of forest and game preserves. A total of 37 fire fighters battled the blaze for seven days, aided by military and civilian helicopters. Military assistance included Hawaii National Guard troops, Army Guard helicopters and Air Guard C-130 cargo aircraft.

– 1992 Annual Report pp. 16

In June, we assisted the Molokai Fire Department by airlifting 18,000 lbs. of fire fighting equipment along with delivering 33,400 lbs. of JP4 fuel for the helicopters flying fire suppression missions for the Molokai brush fires. The crew consisted of Lt. Cols Melvin Honda Peter Pawling, and Ed Miyahira. Maj. Roy Sakata. Capt. Kevin Carcia, and MSgts Alan Ogata and Sam Wong.

– – Five Decades of Service Excellence Hawaii Air National Guard Golden Anniversary 1946-1996 pp.45