My Own Fire Experience

 Every year as a kid in rural Alabama....as you approached October.....you had a leaf raking experience over the yard, and you'd end up with enough leaves to fill thirty 'big' garbage bags.  They'd all be pushed to a corner in the yard (away from trees) and lit.  So for about 30 minutes.....you'd have this controlled fire situation.  

Somewhere around age 15....we had some neighbor to the farm who did this and allowed the yard fire to expand out into one of our fields.  It took about 20 minutes to realize what had happened, and then drive out to the field....with a light wind pushing it north....near a wooded area (not our property).

All of this happening about an hour before sundown.

My dad and I were out there....in the wooded area till about 9 PM....when the last of the field-and-woods fire had been put out.    You were tired, and all-smoked-up.

Generally, if you pay attention....do controlled fires, and downsize underbrush....the potential for a big fire lessens.  

I look at a lot of the Maui fire business, and it just seems like having a 'control' situation or downsizing underbrush....was never a priority.  It's like....they seemed to have higher  priorities in their strategy.