Posted on: Monday, January 7, 2002

Fire damages Kona building

Advertiser Staff

The old dining room of the abandoned Kona Lagoon hotel was destroyed late Saturday in a fire that officials believe was deliberately set, the Big Island Fire Department said yesterday.

Responding to an alarm at 10:31 p.m., firefighters with Engine 12 from the Keauhou Fire Station found the 3,000-square-foot dining room on the ground floor of the hotel fully engulfed in flames, Capt. Matthew Miyasato said.

The 30-year-old hotel, of concrete construction, is on property at 78-6740 Alii Drive owned by Kamehameha Schools.

The fire did approximately $30,000 in damage to the structure, which was valued at $15 million.