Arson suspected in Hale'iwa fire
| • | Haleakala fire may be heading for park |
By Rod Ohira, Allison Schaefers and Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writers
Firefighters suspect a brushfire that threatened historic Hale'iwa yesterday was deliberately set.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Hale'iwa Fire Capt. Richard Sun speculated today the cause of the fire, which started in a "Y" crossing area below the Joseph P. Leong Highway on Kamehameha Schools property at about 12:30 p.m, is likely intentional because it's in a non-populated area. "It's suspicious," Sun said.What fuels the suspicion is a series of brushfires since last Tuesday, all of them believed to be intentionally set. Hale'iwa fire companies have been in nine firefights, including yesterday's, from Ka'ena Point to Sunset Beach.
Honolulu Fire Department firefighter Jon Chun rushed to extinguish a hot spot near the North Shore Market Place in Hale'iwa, background left, yesterday. Firefighters evacuated the market place and 25 businesses decided to close. The fire took out six utility poles and knocked out power to about 3,700 customers.
"Brush fires take time and straps our resources," Sun said. "If people are starting these fires, they should know it's not a game. We respond to medical emergencies, too. For someone, it could be the difference between life or death if we can't respond to a medical emergency because we're in the brush fighting a fire."
Meanwhile, one engine and one tanker from the Wahiawa station today were battling a brushfire in a gulch near Whitmore Village which started at 10:40 a.m. Also, firefighters in Wai'anae were recalled today to the scene of a rubbish fire behind a construction site on Lualualei Homestead Road after it flared up again at 11 a.m.
Yesterday's brushfire burned so close to Hale'iwa town that businesses shut down and local residents feared for their homes.
For about two hours, 40 firefighters from 10 companies around O'ahu, Civil Defense and the Air One helicopter battled the flames that threatened the Hale'iwa Town Center and crept to within a few feet of the North Shore Market Place. The fire also threatened about 10 historic homes that line Kamehameha Highway where sugar cane once grew.
Firefighters evacuated the North Shore Market Place about 2 p.m. after flames crept dangerously close, shutting down 25 businesses. Most of the businesses in the Hale'iwa Town Center also closed because of the fire. The fire took out six utility poles and knocked out power to about 3,700 customers in Waialua and Hale'iwa. It was not known how many businesses in the area closed because of the power failure. Smoke and flames also forced police to shut down the Joseph P. Leong and Kamehameha highways in both directions for about two hours.
The fire was contained by about 2 p.m., said HFD Capt. Kenison Tejada. At sundown, firefighters continued to mop up smoldering brush and utility poles.
The fire was one of eight brushfires that firefighters battled yesterday. Firefighters from Wai'anae and Nanakuli worked from midnight to dawn fighting four brushfires — all apparently deliberately set. Three of the fires were in Ma'ili and the fourth was in Nanakuli. There were two more brushfire calls yesterday in Nanakuli and Makaha, at 8:26 a.m. and 5:36 p.m. respectively, signaling the start of the annual summer brushfire season along the Wai'anae Coast.
Then yesterday afternoon, three more brushfires were reported along the coast, with the largest one along Farrington Highway near Pohakunui Avenue. The fire was reported at 1:54 p.m. and was not extinguished until about 6 p.m.
The fires stretched HFD's manpower, forcing engine companies to move to other areas of the island. Tejada said there were no problems servicing the public, but there was concern.
"That's stretching us where it may take us a few extra minutes to get to a scene, and in a medical emergency sometimes seconds do count," Tejada said.
The North Shore fire was tricky to fight because of high winds and fast-burning grass, Tejada said. A dirt road near the Kamehameha Highway bypass helped provide a natural barrier for the fire. Tejada said the poles also created a problem because they were termite-treated and emitted hazardous smoke.
"It had the potential to be a lot worse than it was," Tejada said. "If the winds had been different, the fire could have gone all the way up the mountain."
The fire was the talk of Hale'iwa, said Christina Espinosa, who lives within 50 feet of where the flames spread.
"People are gonna be talking about this for a month or more," Espinosa said from the living room of her smoke-filled home near the North Shore Market Place shortly after the fire had been extinguished.
Espinosa works at the Outrigger Trading Company in the North Shore Market Place. When her boss closed the store early because of the fire and power failure, she ran two blocks to her house to see if it was still standing.
"We saw a big, black cloud coming out from the bridge portion of the bypass," Espinosa said. "Then suddenly, there was a whole lot of flame and the whole market place was in shadows."
That was about 12:30 p.m. Within minutes the fast-moving fire had picked up and crossed Joseph P. Leong Highway, Espinosa said.
"We could see the fire was above the bypass," she said. "Then the wind picked up and before you knew it the fire was right here."
Espinosa and her neighbors began spraying their yards with water to keep the flames at bay.
Restaurant worker Rusty Shackleford said the smoke was so thick, "I couldn't see 2 feet in front of my face."
"We've survived rock slides, economic disasters and Sept.11, but this is the first fire," said Byron Cooper of Mililani, who owns three businesses in the North Shore Market Place: the Aloha General Store, the Britton Gallery and Polynesian Treasures.
"The fire came right to the edge of the market place," Cooper said. "It was only about 30 to 40 feet away from my gallery. It came within 10 feet of my office."
Cooper removed about 25 percent of his art gallery inventory because he feared smoke and fire damage.
Many other business owners removed computers and files from their stores, Cooper said.
