Runaway brush fire closes roads, forces evacuations

A runaway brush fire has closed Kawaihae Road and Queen Kaahumanu Highway, forcing the evacuation of South Kohala homes and Spencer Beach Park.

A runaway brush fire has closed Kawaihae Road and Queen Kaahumanu Highway, forcing the evacuation of South Kohala homes and Spencer Beach Park.

Evacuation centers were opened at Waikoloa Community Park and the Thelma Parker Gym in Waimea, and The Bluffs at Mauna Kea Resort had some evacuations due to thick smoke, Civil Defense Chief Darryl Oliveira said. The fire jumped Kawaihae Road and was threatening structures at Kawaihae Transitional Housing, with units converging on that area to try to protect it, Oliveira said.

Firefighters and volunteer units from all over Kohala, along with firefighters from Pohakuloa Training Area were busy fighting the blaze on three fronts, Oliveira said.

Fanned by 20-30 mph winds, the fire continued to race mauka along the south edge of lower Kawaihae Road Saturday afternoon and also spread off to the south after originating near the junction of the two highways. Queen Kaahumanu Highway was closed to northbound traffic at Puako Drive and Kawaihae Road was closed from the 62-mile marker. Motorists were being advised to use Kohala Mountain Road and Waikoloa Road as alternative routes.

The blaze, which started around noon, jumped Queen Kaahumanu Highway near the telephone exchange, Oliveira said. More than 100 acres had been burned at 3 p.m., and Hawaii County firefighters battled the blaze with water and foam from the road’s edge, soaking down power poles and using two helicopters with water buckets to try to knock down the head of the blaze.

Traffic on Kawaihae Road was one lane around the fire trucks during the first couple of hours of the blaze, and Hawaii County Civil Defense was advising motorists to take alternate routes. But firefighters and police closed the road in midafternoon as the fire burned up to the edge of the road in steep areas covered in parched grass and brush.