Crews mop up remnants of fire
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
HAWAI'I KAI — Using picks, shovels and water tanks, firefighters battled smoldering fires all day yesterday, putting out hot spots from a brushfire that charred the slopes of Koko Crater on Sunday.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Late yesterday afternoon, acting Battalion Chief Robert Marshman said the fire was pretty much out, but it flared up again around 6 p.m., and units were sent back to the area.
Firefighters from Kaimuki looked for hot spots to extinguish at Koko Head District Park yesterday.
The cause of the blaze, which burned more than 100 acres, has not been determined.
Earlier yesterday, six engine companies, a helicopter and a tanker were sent to Koko Head District Park to stamp out the blaze that flared up overnight, said Marshman.
"The helicopter dropped some of our guys off at the top with picks and shovels," Marshman said.
"There are a lot of access roads up there and we took our water trucks up there and they cut down ... burning trees.
"We used the helicopter to dump water on the areas that were inaccessible by the Koko Crater Shooting Complex," he said.
"It's pretty physical work."
At one point on Sunday, the brushfire, first reported at about 11:45 a.m., came within 25 feet of homes at the foot of the Hawai'i Kai landmark.
Residents and firefighters stood shoulder to shoulder to fight the fire.
There have been several fires in and around the district park in the past couple of months, including three over a period of one week along Koko Crater that led firefighters to suspect that all may have been intentionally set.
"We hope the fire's out," Marshman said yesterday before the early evening flare-up.
"You can never catch all the areas."
He was hoping for rain for a little insurance.
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
