Poison drops kill rats; marine impact monitored

LIHUE, Kauai (AP) — The plan to eradicate a small island’s rat infestation via air drops of poison worked, with no signs of negative impact on marine life, a conservation official said.

Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project worker Andre Raine was on Lehua Island in late September and saw the island buzzing with seabird chicks — and not one live rat.

Recovery project workers are tasked with monitoring the cres279-acre island in the wake of the airdrops that finished Sept. 12. Monitoring will continue for a year and then there will be an in-depth project to assess whether or not there are rats still living on the island.

Exact cause of fatal high-rise fire remains mystery

HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu investigators can’t determine the cause of the July 14 fire at the high-rise Marco Polo apartment building that killed three people and resulted in more than $107 million in damage, fire officials said.

Fire Chief Manuel Neves said during a news conference Monday the fire’s cause is being listed as undetermined.

“Fire investigators have determined the fire began in the living room of unit 2602,” Neves said. “However, due to extensive damage, the exact location and manner in which the fire began could not be ascertained.”

He said investigators were able to rule out some causes of the fire. There was no indication the fire was intentionally set, there’s no evidence of ignitable liquids and cooking wasn’t to blame.

There was no evidence that there was a drug lab in the apartment, and no drug paraphernalia was found, Neves added.

Investigators have not been able to rule out items found in the living room as an accidental cause of the fire: a compressed gas cylinder, a wand-type lighter, a possible butane cylinder, an air conditioning unit, desk computer, several electrical outlets and several electrical devices, possibly a laptop computer and a home router, he said.

They also couldn’t rule out smoking-related activities as an accidental cause, Neves said.

Poison drops kill rats; marine impact monitored

LIHUE, Kauai (AP) — The plan to eradicate a small island’s rat infestation via air drops of poison worked, with no signs of negative impact on marine life, a conservation official said.

Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project worker Andre Raine was on Lehua Island in late September and saw the island buzzing with seabird chicks — and not one live rat.

Recovery project workers are tasked with monitoring the cres279-acre island in the wake of the airdrops that finished Sept. 12. Monitoring will continue for a year and then there will be an in-depth project to assess whether or not there are rats still living on the island.

Exact cause of fatal high-rise fire remains mystery

HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu investigators can’t determine the cause of the July 14 fire at the high-rise Marco Polo apartment building that killed three people and resulted in more than $107 million in damage, fire officials said.

Fire Chief Manuel Neves said during a news conference Monday the fire’s cause is being listed as undetermined.

“Fire investigators have determined the fire began in the living room of unit 2602,” Neves said. “However, due to extensive damage, the exact location and manner in which the fire began could not be ascertained.”

He said investigators were able to rule out some causes of the fire. There was no indication the fire was intentionally set, there’s no evidence of ignitable liquids and cooking wasn’t to blame.

There was no evidence that there was a drug lab in the apartment, and no drug paraphernalia was found, Neves added.

Investigators have not been able to rule out items found in the living room as an accidental cause of the fire: a compressed gas cylinder, a wand-type lighter, a possible butane cylinder, an air conditioning unit, desk computer, several electrical outlets and several electrical devices, possibly a laptop computer and a home router, he said.

They also couldn’t rule out smoking-related activities as an accidental cause, Neves said.