Keaau warehouse fire under investigation

The cause of an early Monday morning fire at a warehouse at Shipman Industrial Park in Keaau is under investigation, according to the Hawaii Fire Department.

According to a written statement, 10 units responded to the 1:06 a.m. alarm, with the first unit arriving seven minutes later.

Arriving firefighters found a fire burning in several areas of the 36,000-square-foot warehouse of a private recycling enterprise, which was about half full of 16-foot-high recycled bales of cardboard, paper and plastics.

Five Department of Public Works front loaders, and a private front loader, skid steer and mini excavator were brought in to help.

The fire was reported under control at 5 a.m. and extinguished at 6:30 a.m.

No dollar estimate was given to the property damage, but an estimated $7.2 million in property was saved, according to the statement.