HONALO — A family home was destroyed by a fire that started Wednesday morning.
HONALO — A family home was destroyed by a fire that started Wednesday morning.
Malia Hooper, her child and a friend’s keiki were at the home when the fire ignited about 11 a.m. The woman got both children out of the single-story wooden structure and no one was injured.
The ohana, who declined to comment, gathered in a nearby field, with the children staying in a car while adults paced back and forth as firefighters, which were stymied by a lack of water, and the only available source for a time was from a garden hose, fought the smolder.
The nearest fire hydrant was about 2,000 feet away on Highway 180, requiring a water relay.
“The structure is a total loss,” said Hawaii Fire Department Capt. Chad Toyomura.
Firefighters had difficulty locating the home on Hooper Villa Road, which is a largely one-lane route closely edged by fencing and rockwalls. Firefighters managed to keep about two-thirds of the building upright, in part by ripping the tin roof off the collapsed part of the home. At one point, a fire truck backed the entire length of the road, rather than risk turning around.
“The fire is still under investigation,” Toyomura said, but it is not considered suspicious.
West Hawaii has seen about a dozen suspicious brush fires break out since mid-February. The Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation, in support of the Hawaii Fire Department, offered a reward Tuesday for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. There is a total of $5,000 available.
The Red Cross provided money for food, clothing and basic needs to the Honalo family, said Barney Sheffield, Hawaii disaster coordinator for the organization. They provided help for the two family units in the home, he said, with a total of 11 people.
That included a hotel stay for one of the family units, he said.
“These people have to completely rebuild their lives. They need all the help they can get,” Sheffield said.
Casey Kapuniai, one of the family members, established a GoFundMe campaign shortly after the fire to raise money for her brother and sister-in-law to help them recover.
“My brother & sister in law along w/their 5 kids just lost their home in a fire today,” she wrote. “Everything burned. They have nothing. Thankfully everyone was safe but all their belongings are gone! Please help my ohana….anything will help as they have nothing….kids ages 16 year old boy, 11 year old boy, 7 year old twin girls & a 6 year old boy. Please kokua!!!”
The donation site received more than $6,100 as of Thursday morning. To contribute to the Hooper ohana, follow this link: https://www.gofundme.com/k9tgy6wk
Another GoFundMe campaign has been established by Kawai Hooper and Ohana and Megan Medeiros for the second family effected by the fire, the Iranon ohana. To contribute to the Iranon ohana, follow this link: https://www.gofundme.com/g9tjagn8