Brush fire lights up Windward section
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
Firefighters were battling a large brush fire above the H-3 freeway near the Marine Corps base in Windward O'ahu last night.
Flames could be seen from as far away as Kane'ohe and the Pali Highway. The smell of smoke reached Kane'ohe as well.
The fire was traveling up the brush-covered mountain, well away from any homes, and was contained at 11:01 p.m., said Capt. Richard Soo, spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department.
Air 1 was dumping water on the blaze, and at least seven engines were on the scene along with federal firefighters from the Marine base, a total of about 45 firefighters, said Soo.
The fire started near a lookout on H-3 shortly before 9 p.m., he said, and covered about 30 acres by the time it was contained.
The H-3 was shut down in both directions as firefighters tried to bring the blaze under control.
Some residents of Yacht Club Terrace, standing in the parking lot of their complex, said they smelled the smoke around 8:30, saw the fire and had been watching since then.
"We want to make sure our community is safe," said Phylis Toguchi.
They said they were concerned for the senior citizens in their complex.
Another resident said it was the fifth brush fire in two years in the area.
Cars were parked along Kane'ohe Bay Drive as people stopped to get a look at the fire.
Asked if they were afraid the fire might reach their homes, Toguchi said, "We're always afraid of that."
Around 10:30 p.m., another fire call at Wheeler Air Base put Fire Department manpower at Level 2, meaning about 35 percent of its firefighters were committed, Soo said.
Hawai'i is entering its fourth year of a statewide drought, and moisture levels are at half of what is considered normal, according to Patrick Costales, in the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Costales said he fears it could be a dangerous summer.
"It's dry now, and we shudder to think what the end of the summer will look like," he said.
