Two major highways reopened Friday afternoon as firefighters continued to battle multiple “suspicious” fires that consumed more than 1,000 acres in North Kona and South Kohala. ADVERTISING Two major highways reopened Friday afternoon as firefighters continued to battle multiple “suspicious”
Two major highways reopened Friday afternoon as firefighters continued to battle multiple “suspicious” fires that consumed more than 1,000 acres in North Kona and South Kohala.
Meanwhile, Big Island police said they are investigating the fires as arson, according to Hawaii Police Department Kona Patrol Capt. Randall Ishii. The Hawaii Fire Department deemed the fires as suspicious shortly after they started around the same time Thursday afternoon.
Ishii said police are looking for any information the public has about activity in the area of the Daniel K. Inouye Highway and Highway 190 about 4 p.m. Thursday. That includes any odd behavior, stopped vehicles or perhaps even the sight of someone walking with a gas can into brushy areas between mile markers 16 and 18 on Highway 190 and near mile marker 50 on the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also known as the new Saddle Road.
Anyone with information is urged to call the department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311.
Federal, state and county firefighters on Friday continued to battle the brush fires throughout the day, gaining somewhat of an upper-hand. No homes were threatened or injuries reported as of Friday evening. The fires that continued to burn Friday had five separate points of origin that combined into three separate fires Thursday afternoon.
One of the fires, located near mile marker 16 on Highway 190, more than doubled in size overnight from about 300 acres to 771 acres Friday, according to state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokesman Dan Dennison. It was listed as 75 percent contained as of Friday afternoon.
Dennison said that meant crews had established a fire line around most of the active fire.
A second fire on Highway 190, near mile marker 17, consumed about 24 acres. It was listed as contained and under control.
Another fire, located on federal land mauka of the intersection of Daniel K. Inouye Highway and Highway 190 in South Kohala, grew from 24 acres Thursday night to about 300 acres by Friday afternoon.
Highway 190 and the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, which were closed shortly after the fire started, reopened about 1:45 p.m. Friday.
U.S. Army officials on Friday also announced that hunting this weekend at Pohakuloa Training Area will be closed because of the fires.
