Arson suspected in Maui cane fire

Advertiser Staff

HALI'IMAILE, Maui — A suspicious unscheduled cane fire burned 420 acres and jumped the three-lane Haleakala Highway yesterday afternoon, forcing authorities to close the main road linking Central Maui to the Upcountry region for three hours.

Assistant Fire Chief Gordon Cordeiro said the fire was not only unscheduled but started in four or five different places, leading authorities to investigate the possibility it was arson.

Damage to the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co cane was estimated at more than $1.2 million, but the company was trying to salvage some of the crop, Cordeiro said.

Haleakala Highway was shut down between Hana Highway and Hali'imaile Road from about 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and police redirected Upcountry traffic onto a congested Baldwin Avenue.