Hale'iwa brush fire prompts evacuations

Advertiser Staff

A large brush fire near Hale'iwa today prompted the evacuation of businesses and homes and toppled utility poles, cutting off electricity to more than 6,000 North Shore customers. North Shore Marketplace was evacuated for about two hours, reopening at 2:30 p.m.

Officials set up road blocks at the junction of Kamehameha Highway and the Hale'iwa bypass road, and were also planning to stop traffic near the intersection of Kamehameha Highway and Hale'iwa Road. The bypass road, formally known as the Joseph P. Leong Highway, was reopened about 2:15 p.m.

The fire was reported about noon. At one point a palm tree was on fire behind the North Shore Marketplace, close to a propane tank.

Traffic in Hale'iwa was extremely heavy. At one point firefighters said cars could not exit the North Shore Marketplace because of gridlock on Kamehameha Highway.

Another brush fire, in Nanakuli, resulted in an order to evacuate the Head Start program at Nana'ikapono Elementary School. That fire was reported about 2 p.m.