KOKE‘E — Firefighters extinguished “hot spots” as they flared up Sunday in Waimea Canyon State Park after mostly containing the blaze the previous day. The brush fire that sparked Saturday afternoon along Makaha Ridge Road scorched more than 10 acres
KOKE‘E — Firefighters extinguished “hot spots” as they flared up Sunday in Waimea Canyon State Park after mostly containing the blaze the previous day.
The brush fire that sparked Saturday afternoon along Makaha Ridge Road scorched more than 10 acres of the remote Westside forest before a multi-agency effort brought it under control.
The fire came close enough to alarm some of the owners of the estimated two dozen cabins in the vicinity, but not evacuation was issued and no property damage was reported.
Capt. Ken D’Attilio provided aerial support Sunday with his Inter-Island Helicopters crew, dumping huge buckets of water pulled from Pu‘u Lua Reservoir on the most troublesome areas.
The veteran pilot returned from fighting the fire at 9 p.m. Saturday and resumed the effort at 5:30 Sunday morning to help extinguish hot spots that flared up over night.
County spokesperson Mary Daubert said the fire had a two-mile diameter at one point, but things “wrapped up” about 1:30 a.m. Sunday and the plan was for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife personnel to return later that day.
“They were told that if they required assistance to contact the fire department,” she said, as the forest falls within state jurisdiction.
There was no word from DLNR on the blaze by press time.
It is unclear how the fire started, though an Inter-Island Helicopters spokesperson said July 3-5 is a “big time for fires” and they were on “ready reserve with fuel tanks.”
Makaha Ridge Road is near mile marker 14 with several dirt hunting roads leading off the paved road into a forested picnic area.
A cabin owner said around 7 p.m. Saturday that the fire was continuing to spread throughout the remote, dry pine forest, but fortunately it was not windy. He said there are some 20 to 30 cabin owners in the vicinity, but they had not been asked to evacuate.
The fire was 75 percent contained by Saturday night, according to Kaua‘i Fire Chief Robert Westerman.
County firefighters, Air-1, a unit from Pacific Missile Range Facility and state personnel worked together to extinguish the blaze.
Visit www.thegardenisland.com for video footage of the fire.
• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com
