Posted on: Friday, May 20, 2005
Boy, 13, arrested in Nanakuli fire
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
A 13-year-old boy accused of deliberately setting a 3,000-acre brushfire by burning a section of a cemetery at the back of Nanakuli Valley surrendered to police yesterday.
The Nanakuli Intermediate School student was arrested at the Kapolei police substation at 11:45 a.m. yesterday after investigators talked with him and his parents.
The boy was arrested on suspicion of second-degree criminal property damage, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He has not been charged.
News of the arrest was welcomed by area residents who had seen schools closed, homes threatened and roads snarled while ash and smoke in the air causing breathing difficulties for some as the blaze flared repeatedly over nine days.
Honolulu police Chief Boisse Correa, at a news conference yesterday with Honolulu fire Chief Attilio Leonardi, said a witness told police he saw the 13-year-old bend over and start a fire in a corner of the Nanakuli Cemetery on May 10, the day of the initial blaze. The witness then picked the boy out of a lineup, Correa said.
Correa said the boy acted alone.
"We're very sensitive to what's going on with these fires. This year, we're going to prevent some of this and catch some of these guys," Correa said. "If you're thinking about doing these things (starting brushfires), think twice. Being incarcerated is not a fun thing to be."
Police said yesterday they had been looking at the boy as a possible suspect for a day before he turned himself in.
Because the suspect is 13 years old, his case would stay in Family Court. After being booked yesterday, he was released to his parents.
Residents of the Leeward Coast say they are relieved and encouraged by the arrest. They said that every year during the summer, youths start fires in the dry brush just for fun.
"About time they wake up these dang kids," said Harry Choy, 81, who has lived on the Leeward Coast for 55 years. "I was surprised that people even called (the police) and said they saw juveniles."
Adrian Silva, a 67-year-old Ma'ili resident who has lived on the Leeward Coast all his life, said the fire kept him from traveling into Nanakuli Valley and Lualualei, areas he visits regularly.
"I really feel sorry for who they caught," he said. "Hopefully, these young guys wake up and understand it could be their house in jeopardy" someday.
Correa said officers will be setting up surveillance in areas susceptible to fire along the Leeward Coast this summer. He declined to elaborate.
Fire Chief Leonardi praised the police department for swift action and talked about the difficulty and danger of fighting a 3,000-acre fire. He said several firefighters were injured on the rocky terrain and several fire department vehicles were damaged.
"This fire created a lot of problems for us," he said. "It really stretched our resources. We came really close to having a mandatory recall of our (off-duty) personnel."
Leonardi said at certain points during the fire, the department had about half of its resources on the Leeward Coast. Five days after the initial fire in Nanakuli on May 10, three separate fires tied up firefighters until dawn last Sunday. The fire was declared extinguished Wednesday morning.
He said the fire department is still tabulating overtime costs, but said much of the money used to fight the fire was already budgeted.
Fire officials say brushfires have spiked recently as an unusually wet winter gave way to a dry spring. As of May 12, there have been 210 brushfires reported, compared with the 89 reported through May 12 last year, according to the fire department.
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
