Police say a kitchen fire early Thursday at Verna’s Too Drive-In in Mountain View may have been intentionally set during a burglary.
Firefighters, responding to the 1:41 a.m. report, arrived at the restaurant, located off Highway 11, and found a stove on fire, according to the Hawaii County Fire Department. The fire was confined to the stove area and declared extinguished at 2 a.m. No injuries were reported.
A fire inspector subsequently determined that the fire was suspicious in nature, and the business owners confirmed some items were missing, according to the Hawaii Police Department, which also responded to the incident. Damage was estimated at $20,000.
Detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigations Section will continue the investigation.
Anyone with any information about the case should call the department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311.
Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call the island wide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.