‘Suspicious’ fires continue to flare in West Hawaii

KAILUA-KONA — Two more fires broke out Wednesday in West Hawaii, leaving investigators asking the public for help to end the string of blazes.

A sign has been posted along Highway 190 to inform motorists to report suspicious activity relating to the recent fires to the Hawaii Police Department.

“We need the public’s help to find who’s doing this,” said Deborah Ward, Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman.

Less than a week after several “suspicious” brush fires torched more than 1,100 acres in North Kona and South Kohala, two more ‘suspicious’ fires ignited shortly after midnight Wednesday in federal and state land off Highway 190.

At 12:03 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to a report of a brush fire near mile marker 18.5 in North Kona. As they neared the top of Waikoloa Road to turn right toward the blaze, firefighters looked left and noticed a second, not-yet-reported, fire about a half-mile on the Waimea side of the road’s junction with Highway 190, Hawaii Fire Department West Hawaii Battalion Chief John Whitman told West Hawaii Today.

They headed to the scene and extinguished that fire, which was located on the mauka side of the highway within Pohakuloa Training Area’s Keamuku Maneuver Area in South Kohala. Whitman estimated the blaze consumed about 2,000 square feet.

Crews then headed south to the 18.5 mile marker where they spent a couple of hours dousing flames before turning the scene over to the DLNR to continue operations. The fire, which Whitman said charred 1.5 acres, burned within the Puuanahulu Game Management Area, south of the Kona hunter check-in station.

Hawaii Fire Department investigators were sent to the scene of both fires to gather evidence to determine whether they were intentionally set or related to the fires that broke out last Thursday in the area.

“The fact that they are so close in timing and nature, it could be potentially related to the others,” said Fire Prevention Bureau Kona Capt. Kazuo Todd.

He was unable to provide any additional information because of the ongoing investigation, but urged the public to report any suspicious activity in the area to Big Island police at 935-3311.

Last Thursday, firefighters responded to multiple brush fires in the vicinity of Highway 190 and Daniel K. Inouye Highway that consumed more than 1,100 acres of dry brush and fountain grass. The fires had five separate points of origin that combined into the three separate fires at the height of the blaze Thursday afternoon, fire officials said previously.

Two of the fires continued to smolder Wednesday, state and federal officials said. A 775-acre brush fire on state land about four miles north of Puuanahulu is contained, but smoke continues to emanate within interior areas. A 320-acre brush fire off Daniel K. Inouye Highway in federal land at Pohakuloa Training Area also remained hot, though it posed no threat of escape.

State, county and federal officials have said there was no damage to structures. However, DLNR said some native trees were lost.