BY CHELSEA JENSEN | WEST HAWAII TODAY Mop-up operations continued Wednesday with firefighters working to quash hot spots remaining from a brush fire that consumed 38 acres Tuesday in Kailua-Kona. ADVERTISING Firefighters spent the day dousing smoldering stumps to extinguish
BY CHELSEA JENSEN | WEST HAWAII TODAY
Mop-up operations continued Wednesday with firefighters working to quash hot spots remaining from a brush fire that consumed 38 acres Tuesday in Kailua-Kona.
Firefighters spent the day dousing smoldering stumps to extinguish the blaze and rid neighboring areas of smoke, said Battalion Chief Ty Medeiros.
Crews were to remain on scene throughout the night.
Following aerial observations and computer plotting, the department set the fire at 38 acres, he said. Preliminary estimates set the fire at 35 acres.
Rain that began falling shortly after dark Tuesday also helped firefighters greatly, Medeiros said.
“It really brought up the humidity and helped settle down the fire. It also got neighboring grass moist, which helps keep the fire from spreading,” he said.
The fire’s cause is undetermined, said Fire Inspector Troy Gibson Sr., who was assigned to the blaze. However, Gibson did note the fire apparently started near the Nani Kailua Drive and Hualalai Road intersection. He was unable to provide any further information.
The fire, reported after 2 p.m., began mauka of the University of the Nations, traveled mauka through dry brush before reaching Hualalai Road. It then crossed Hualalai Road and headed mauka along the south side of The Pines subdivision, scorching some residents’ fences, but leaving homes unscathed.
The fire then jumped Queen Kaahumanu Highway and continued its mauka trek, however, county, volunteers, federal and state firefighters were able to halt the blaze near Welo Street.
The blaze also resulted in the temporary evacuation of residents in the area, including about 40 people at Hualalai Elderly, Battalion Chief Aaron Arbles said Tuesday. No injuries were reported.
While firefighters were able to keep the fire from destroying homes, a Pines I subdivision resident, John Kitchen, contacted West Hawaii Today Wednesday concerned that the department’s response time resulted in the fire crossing Hualalai Road and jeopardizing homes.
He claimed he first noticed the fire before 2 p.m., but did not report the fire. At least 10 minutes went by before firefighters were on scene, he said.
“It was a very slow response time,” he said. “Had there been a timely response, the fire could have been contained below Hualalai Road.”
West Hawaii Today was unable to reach Fire Chief Darren Rosario and Deputy Fire Chief Renwick Victorino for comment on the situation. Medeiros referred comment on the response to the chiefs.
However, according to the Hawaii Fire Department’s official press release on the fire, the department received an alarm at 2:17 p.m. The first unit responded at 2:19 p.m. and arrived at the scene at 2:22 p.m.
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
