cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com BY CHELSEA JENSEN | WEST HAWAII TODAY ADVERTISING wo brush fires, one within Lapakahi State Historical Park, kept firefighters busy and snarled traffic Wednesday in North Hawaii. No culturally or historically significant items are believed to have been damaged
BY CHELSEA JENSEN | WEST HAWAII TODAY
wo brush fires, one within Lapakahi State Historical Park, kept firefighters busy and snarled traffic Wednesday in North Hawaii.
No culturally or historically significant items are believed to have been damaged in the blaze that broke out around 6 a.m. in land on Lapakahi State Historical Park’s southern boundary in North Kohala, said Hawaii Fire Department Battalion Chief Ty Medeiros. About 18 acres, stretching from Akoni Pule Highway, near mile marker 14, to the ocean were charred.
Roger Imoto, state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife Hawaii branch manager, as well as Steve Thompson, program manager with the department’s State Parks Division, said state crews were on the scene with county firefighters to ensure operations did not disturb archaeological items. Imoto also noted that crews used lighter vehicles, not heavy engines, carried in water by hand and did not bulldoze fire breaks to reduce impact to the park’s contents.
The Forestry and Wildlife Division, which took over operations once the county deemed the blaze contained about 1 p.m., will remain on the scene to douse any flare ups, Imoto said. The fire had yet to be extinguished as of press time on Wednesday.
While the blaze did not close the highway, it did slow traffic while county firefighters were on scene, Medeiros said. No injuries were reported and no structures were threatened. The cause of the fire, which started near the highway, remains under investigation.
On Kawaihae Road, a small brush fire that ignited shortly before 11 a.m. left the Waimea-to-Kawaihae connector restricted to one lane of travel for about an hour, Medeiros said. The blaze, located between mile markers 65 and 66, consumed about 100 square feet of vacant land on the north side of the roadway.
The cause of the fire, which was extinguished in less than an hour, remains under investigation, he said. The fire did not threaten any structures and no injuries were reported.
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
