Fire doused at homeless camp

A cooking fire that escaped from a homeless camp is to be blamed for scorching a small area of dry brush along Alii Drive on Friday.

Hawaii County firefighters used hoses and pack sprayers loaded with foam to quickly douse an area about 20 feet by 30 feet in size.

The fire was discovered shortly after 10 a.m. across from Bongo Ben’s. Several blue tarps of the camp were visible in the area of dry brush and grass south of the Coconut Grove Marketplace parking lot.