Nanakuli fire gains second wind
By Peter Boylan, David Waite and Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writers
NANAKULI — Kaimana Kahuanui awoke early yesterday to the smell of smoke and the sound of branches crackling in his backyard.
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Kahuanui thought the brushfire that had burned about 150 acres of Nanakuli Valley Tuesday had been put out, and was surprised to see flames about 100 feet from his bedroom window.
Honolulu firefighter Edwin Tangunan, of the Waikele fire station, heads for a rehab station after spending the morning and most of the afternoon fighting a brushfire in Nanakuli. About one-quarter of the fire department's resources went to fighting the fire yesterday.
"I went to sleep at 2 a.m. and woke up at 4 a.m. because it was right behind my house," said Kahuanui, a 21-year-old Kapiolani Community College student who moved into the area in April. "You could hear the fire."
More than 100 firefighters, 18 engines, four tankers and Air One — roughly one-quarter of the Honolulu Fire Department's resources — had engaged the blaze by 3:30 p.m. yesterday. More than 20 federal firefighters, three military helicopter pilots and another from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources were working with HFD to contain the fire, which had turned more than 450 acres of brush into scorched earth.
It is the first significant brushfire of the season, and firefighters islandwide are bracing for what could be a summer rife with similar fires.
At least three firefighters were treated for minor injuries, smoke inhalation or dehydration and exhaustion.
"There was a lot of rain over the winter months and the vegetation really took off," said
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Emmit Kane. "After just a few weeks of relatively dry weather, that abundant vegetation has already started to dry out and is becoming a problem."
By yesterday afternoon, the Honolulu Fire Department had committed more than 25 percent of its resources to battling the blaze. About 125 firefighters, some from as far away as Hau'ula, including 20 on loan from the military, worked in rotating shifts throughout the day yesterday, as the fire burned a path across the back bowl of Nanakuli Valley.
The fire had been declared contained about 6:30 last night after burning approximately 150 acres toward the back of Nanakuli Valley. But at 8:50 p.m., fire companies responded to a flare-up at the end of Nanakuli Avenue.
"It was contained to a ravine toward the back of the valley when everybody went home last night," Kane said. "The winds shifted overnight and the fire started migrating down the valley."
HFD is working with Honolulu police to determine the cause after an area resident told firefighters that two people were seen running from the bushes before the fire started.
In addition to the main fire, a separate blaze, also believed to be deliberately set, consumed more than 50 acres along the ridgeline closest to Kamehameha Highway.
Fire crews kept watch throughout Tuesday night, but at about 3:45 a.m. yesterday, 11 fire companies and four tanker trucks had been recalled to deal with the flare-up.
"They ran hoses between some of the homes in the upper valley where the flames came within about 100 yards," Kane said.
Yesterday morning, a firefighter tripped and fell awkwardly on a large rock while dragging lines and water up the face of a ridge line. He was flown to Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and treated for injuries.
Another firefighter was flown out of the valley after suffering dehydration. Emergency Medical Services crews helped him and gave him water and food.
A third firefighter suffered heat exhaustion and dehydration. He was flown out of the area and taken by ambulance to Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. He was expected to be released last night.
At Nanakuli Elementary School, more than 20 students and several faculty members went home because of respiratory ailments aggravated by the smoke. Principal Wendy Takahashi said officials had to make a decision early yesterday whether to cancel classes because of health concerns.
"When we got here it was a little smoky, but we felt that it would be OK," Takahashi said.
She said that by about 9 a.m., the air had cleared, but the smoke had already affected the school, as students and staff with asthma and other ailments either stayed home or were sent home.
To keep the nearly 550 students out of the smoke, classes were held in the school's few air-conditioned rooms. The library accommodated four classes yesterday, she said.
"During the day the air-conditioned rooms got more crowded because we kept adding classes," Takahashi said.
Officials were also concerned about whether they could feed the students. Nanakuli Elementary's lunches are prepared at Nanakuli High School and driven to the elementary school.
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"They had only one van driver so if she got sick they would have no way of transporting the meals to us," Takahashi said.
Firefighter Ed Millerd of the Waikele fire station stores tools after fighting yesterday's flare-up in Nanakuli. At least three firefighters were treated for minor injuries, smoke inhalation or dehydration and exhaustion after the first major brushfire of the season.
The chopper pilots transformed Nanakuli High School's baseball field into an airbase as they flew water drop after water drop.
The fire line extended from the base of the valley to the top of the ridge, preventing firefighters from hosing down or beating back anything other than smoldering patches and isolated fires left in the blaze's wake.
Kane said that because the fire line was burning quickly along the steep slope, water drops from the air would be used along the ridgeline and in the areas unreachable by foot.
Yesterday, helicopters were flown from the high school to the ocean to pick up water, then to the back of the valley to make their drops.
Dirt kicked up by the aircraft left a thick coating on many cars parked next to the high school, and residents milled about the streets gawking at the thick billowing smoke at the back of the valley.
Leilani Nihipali's family has lived on Haleakala Avenue in Nanakuli for more than 20 years and is no stranger to brushfires, but she said last night was the closest a fire has come to her home.
"When I looked behind our house I could see all the trees (in the backyard) burning," she said, shielding her eyes from the sun as she watched two helicopters fly past each other. "It's terrible."
Nihipali said the flames got within 25 feet of her house before firefighters contained it.
Jerry Kaleikini, a 61-year-old truck driver, said his whole house filled up with smoke last night, causing him to almost evacuate his five young grandchildren from the home.
"This morning the flames were just unreal," he said. "I was really, really concerned for the children."
