Watch: Quick action saves rare bird center from Maui fire

The wildfires on Maui nearly destroyed an endangered bird center, but some quick action rescued the birds before the flames arrived. The Washington Post reports that Jennifer Pribble, a wildlife care supervisor at the Maui Bird Conservation Center, and a neighbor hosed down the grass outside the center to keep the flames at bay until firefighters could arrive. Run by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, the center houses some of Hawaii’s critically endangered birds, like the kiwikiu and ‘akikiki, as part of an effort to restore the birds to the wild. After the initial threat, staff members began moving the birds to barns away from trees that could fall.

Read more from the Washington Post, and watch the video below.