PO‘IPU — Kaua‘i Police Department officers Sunday closed off the Koloa bypass road (Ala Kinoiki) for several hours Sunday so Kaua‘i Fire Department firefighters could battle a brush fire that burned next to it. The stubborn fire, first reported before
PO‘IPU — Kaua‘i Police Department officers Sunday closed off the Koloa bypass road (Ala Kinoiki) for several hours Sunday so Kaua‘i Fire Department firefighters could battle a brush fire that burned next to it.
The stubborn fire, first reported before 2 p.m., appeared to have started from a point near the Ala Kinoiki-Weliweli Road intersection, on the old McBryde Sugar mill side of the road, according to KFD Battalion Chief Charles Metivier and one of the KPD officers manning one of several road blocks.
With gusty trades blowing, the fire jumped Ala Kinioki, creating additional problems for the firefighting teams, whose members had to be deployed on both sides of the road.
Some 60 acres of private land burned, and KFD units from Koloa, Hanapepe, Kalaheo, Kapa‘a and Lihu‘e stations responded.
Justin Hesapene was one of the civilians shrouded in the heavy, black smoke fanned by the trades that blanketed parts of Koloa and Po‘ipu, and he made adjustments to the water bucket being used by the Inter-Island Helicopters aircraft piloted by Bob Rogers that was used to drop water on the evasive blaze.
Hesapene said they were also involved with crews from U.S. Navy helicopters from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in the recent brush fire in Wailua, too.
Alternating between sites on both sides of the bypass road, Rogers refilled his bucket from Kiahuna Golf Course water-hazard ponds, and made low drops to maximize the water coverage.
Hesapene also guided the helicopter to a landing area at one bypass-road intersection, so it could refuel.
“We don’t put that much fuel,” he explained. “That way, the craft is much more maneuverable.”
Throughout the battle, the squeaky drone of a bulldozer from Wa‘alani Enterprises’ owners could be heard, as a worker cut a fire break, his work punctuated by the crackle of flames that sporadically spewed skyward.
Additionally, Wa‘alani Enterprises and Goodfellow Brothers workers brought water tankers to the scene, keeping parts of the blaze at bay.
Several other volunteers joined in the fight.
At one point, there was concern that the fire would endanger residences along Hapa Road, as well as St. Raphael’s Catholic Church. But the firefighting efforts kept the fire contained, one police officer noting the difficulty of battling this blaze because of the number of new houses coming up, and the proximity of churches and homes.
Lessees of pastureland in and near the area of the brush fire moved their livestock out of danger with the aid of the police officers, one eyewitness talking about an elderly man on Hapa Road who had installed sprinklers on his roof in an attempt to save his home in the event the fire reached that far.
By around 5:15 p.m., fire-fighters had the blaze under control.
Metivier said no structures were threatened during the fire.
