On September 19, 2026, the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) received a 911 call at 3:21 p.m. and responded to a sight of smoke at 1857 Ala Aolani Street in Moanalua with one unit staffed with four personnel. The unit arrived at an updated address of 1750 Onipaa Street at 3:29 p.m. to find no signs of smoke then relocated to Tripler Army Medical Center to get a better vantage point. The incident was upgraded to a Wildland Fire Incident and an additional four units staffed with eight personnel were dispatched.
It was reported that smoke was seen in the mountains above the United States Coast Guard housing. At 3:45 p.m., the relocated unit observed smoke possibly near the H3 Freeway. Air 1 confirmed light smoke emanating from under the canopy of a large tree on the Red Hill Ridge at 4:23 p.m. then inserted three firefighters below the fire at 5:03 p.m. Equipped with water packs, the three firefighters hiked up to the tree where they found a small, approximately 50’ by 20’ in area, smoldering brush fire. The fire was extinguished at 5:51 p.m. and Air 1 safely airlifted the firefighters off the mountain at 6:12 p.m.
All HFD personnel were accounted for with no injuries.
The fire’s origin and cause are undetermined at this time.