Cleanup efforts are underway after a runaway brush fire Friday destroyed a house and charred 2,200 acres of mostly pasture land in Waimea. ADVERTISING Cleanup efforts are underway after a runaway brush fire Friday destroyed a house and charred 2,200
Cleanup efforts are underway after a runaway brush fire Friday destroyed a house and charred 2,200 acres of mostly pasture land in Waimea.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials say it appears to have started accidentally in a dry, grassy area of a residence in the Puukapu farm lots on the 64-700 block of Paeli Alanui Street.
The fire reportedly spread quickly, fueled by dry brush and heavy winds, and swept through farm lots and commercial ranch pasture lands owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Parker Ranch.
By Friday night, the fire was 80 percent contained. It was reported fully contained at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Crews have worked since to douse hot spots and expect to continue into the week, Hawaii Fire Department West Hawaii Battalion Chief Darwin Okinaka said.
“We have crews out there now,” Okinaka said early Monday afternoon. “It’s such a big area, so there are a lot of hot spots. We’re going to be there a few days at least.
“As to why it started, and how it started, we don’t know. We have a burn ban in West Hawaii, so no one should be burning anything, so on that part it’s illegal, but I don’t think it was an intentionally set brush fire.”
No injuries were reported, though a single residential structure and vehicle were destroyed. A single female occupant was evacuated from the house, Okinaka said. No other evacuations were reported.
Authorities haven’t yet determined the damage amount.
Crews from Parker Ranch also were on the scene Monday assessing the extent of damage, said Parker Ranch administrative executive Nahua Guilloz.
“It burned around (2,200 acres), and we’re expecting most of that to be ours,” Guilloz said. “We had several miles of water line burned and fencing as well that has been burned. They were able to save most of our water tanks, but right now we’re still (assessing).”
Highway 190 was closed Friday for several hours because of the fire.
The Waimea-Kohala Airport also temporarily closed its runway as a precaution, and the Hawaii Island Humane Society evacuated its Waimea shelter for the night.
Crews extinguished a second brush fire Sunday near mile-marker 29 in North Kona. Okinaka said that fire burned about a half-acre and isn’t thought to have caused significant damage.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
