HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Fire burns 250 acres in valley
Advertiser Staff
Fire crews last night continued to battle a brushfire that burned about 250 acres in Makaha Valley.
The fire was reported about 5 p.m. off Kili Drive and was driven by strong onshore winds, said fire spokesman Capt. Emmit Kane. Kane said the blaze was in an inaccessible area and away from homes.
At its peak, 65 city firefighters and 12 federal firefighters fought the blaze, Kane said. One city firefighter suffered a cut and was treated by ambulance personnel, but he was not seriously injured, Kane said.
By 8:30 last night, Kane said the winds had shifted and began to blow the flames and smoke in the makai direction. But Kane said the flames remained far from homes and other property.
Kane said fire crews were expected to remain in the valley overnight to keep a fire watch. The cause of the fire was not known last night, he said.
PUPUKEA
NONPROFIT TO BUY NORTH SHORE LAND
The city is giving $1 million to help a nonprofit trust acquire and protect the Pupukea Paumalu forest bluff on O'ahu's North Shore.
The Trust for Public Land will use the money to buy the 1,129 acres of oceanside land from Obayashi Corp. later this year and protect it from being developed.
The Japanese company, which bought the land for $7 million in 1974, put the property on the market when proposed development of 500 homes on the 400-foot high bluff above Sunset Beach recently fell through.
The Trust for Public Land and the North Shore Community Land Trust have raised more than $800,000 in private donations and $7 million from federal, state, county and private sources.
BIG ISLAND
WOMAN IN ABUSE CASE FREED ON BAIL
A 38-year-old Big Island woman who was charged with attempted murder in what has been described as a severe child abuse case was released on bail last week.
Officials with the Hawai'i Community Correctional Center in Hilo confirmed Hyacinth L. Poouahi was released on bail on Dec. 29.
Poouahi had been held in lieu of $25,000 bail on five felony charges, including attempted murder by omission, kidnapping, terroristic threatening, assault and endangering the welfare of a minor.
The case involves the alleged abuse of an 11-year-old Puna girl who was removed from Poouahi's 'Ainaloa subdivision home on Feb. 7 suffering from burns, broken bones and festering wounds. The girl was sent to a California hospital for treatment of the burns, and is now in foster care in Hawai'i.
HILO MAN, 20, DIED IN PLUNGE
A 20-year-old Hilo man who died Sunday after falling from Pi'ihonua Bridge has been identified as Puna Kamelamela.
Kamelamela was standing on a wooden railing about 3 p.m., preparing to dive off the bridge into the pond below, when a piece of the wood broke off, causing him to plunge 30 feet to the rocks below, police said.
A Fire Department rescue crew pulled him from the bottom of the 10-foot-deep pond and took him to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.
MANOA
LIBRARY RECEIVES FUNDS FOR PROJECT
The Manoa Public Library will get $6.5 million in state funds to design and build an expanded facility.
The project includes enlarging the building, more parking, site improvements and interior renovations. The work will provide more space for an expanded library collection and staff area.
The design phase is expected to be completed in September, and construction is scheduled to start in February 2007.
HALAWA
ROAD LANES TO BE CLOSED FOR WORK
One lane along Halawa Heights Road near Camp Smith will be closed until Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. for resurfacing.
Lanes may be closed along Halawa Heights Road between Ali'ipoe Drive and Fernridge Place, near Camp Smith, for median curb work and road widening. The project is scheduled for completion in the spring.
KAUA'I
FIRE SCORCHES ABOUT 200 ACRES
Firefighters were mopping up a grass fire yesterday that burned an estimated 200 acres of abandoned cane field on the north side of Hanama'ulu Bay.
The fire did not jump mauka of Kuhio Highway and burned no structures. Fire Chief Robert Westerman said the fire started in the late morning.
Twenty-three firefighters and seven trucks worked on the blaze during the day, with the assistance of a helicopter from the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility, which dumped buckets of water on hot spots.
