Daniel K. Inouye Highway as of press-time Friday remained closed in both directions from Old Saddle Road to Highway 190 as fire personnel worked to extinguish a brushfire.
The fire, which broke out Friday afternoon, had consumed 200-plus acres as of Friday evening. Firefighters with the Hawaii Fire Department, including paid and volunteer personnel, U.S. Army Pohakuloa Training Area and state Division of Forestry and Wildlife were working to contain the blaze near mile marker 48 on the Kona side of Daniel K. Inouye Highway. As of 8:15 p.m., the fire was about 50% contained.
In addition to firefighters, helicopters were making waterdrops on the flames and bulldozers were working to cut a firebreak around the fire.
This fire comes two weeks after the largest brushfire in Big Island history scorched more than 40,000 acres. Parker Ranch, using NASA data, said the fire burned 47,000 acres. A brush fire Wednesday afternoon scored about 5 acres in the same area as Friday’s fire.