A brush fire has burned more than 4,650 acres and remained uncontrolled in the Kawaihae area as of Sunday. ADVERTISING A brush fire has burned more than 4,650 acres and remained uncontrolled in the Kawaihae area as of Sunday. The
A brush fire has burned more than 4,650 acres and remained uncontrolled in the Kawaihae area as of Sunday.
The fire began about noon Saturday and began spreading throughout the area, Fire Chief Darren J. Rosario said.
By Sunday afternoon it was driven into an inaccessible area near the North Kohala Road. Rosario said helicopters would continue to dump water until nightfall and the area would be monitored by five units overnight.
The blaze threatened two neighborhoods over the weekend. One was the Kawaihae village. Homes were evacuated as the fire was being driven away from the area. Then it turned towards the village.
“We were OK until it jumped the road,” Rosario said.
Firefighters converged on the village, linked their hoses to the hydrants and “took a defensive stance,” said Rosario.
The fire ran within a foot of the road leading into the village.
However, the line held and the town suffered no damage beyond scorched fields and a burned out car in an exterior lot.
The shifting winds caused the fire to then head toward Mauna Kea Beach Resort.
Firefighters concentrated on the area and stopped the flames, which left great swaths of blackened ground and still-smoldering logs.
Evacuations were ordered, but residents were allowed to return within a day.
Some residents used the emergency shelters set up at Thelma Parker Gym in Waimea and at Waikoloa Park.
Rosario said the public’s cooperation made for a much safer and more effective effort.
Control of the fire was undertaken with machinery, tools and untold gallons of water.
Much of that water came from the two assigned helicopters, dropping it from buckets.
They were able to fill from both the mobile units and some local ponds. Many reservoirs were made available by land owners, which was a great help, said Rosario.
A bulldozer made a fire break beginning at Palihae Gulch before arcing toward Luahine Gulch. The terrain made it difficult for the bulldozer to create a full firebreak, Rosario said, as it was difficult or impossible to safely clear away some areas.
The size of the fire led him to activate the incident command team, specialists that freed some of his firefighters from desk responsibilities and improved efficiency, he said.
At one point on Sunday night, there were 82 people working, many of whom were from other agencies. They included volunteer firefighters, people from the Department of Fish and Wildlife and private groups. Other organizations showed up Sunday, including the National Park Service and the Pohakuloa Training Area unit.
Fire Chief Eric Moller of PTA said their equipment allowed them access to some areas county units could not go. This gave Rosario more flexibility in where to assign crews.
Moller said a fire on an island is like a submarine — everyone has to work together to save it.
A pile of timber awaiting shipment near Kawaihae Harbor ignited, sending dark plumes of smoke that covered Highway 270. It was closed for hours, along with fire-threatened stretches of other streets. By 3:30 p.m. all were reopened.
The cause of the blaze was not known at press time, as efforts focused on controlling the existing blaze.
