WAILUA —Charred wood and melted glass is all that remains of about one third of the northern portion of the former retail annex to the world-famous Coco Palms after a Thursday morning blaze further decimated a once-iconic hotel already in
WAILUA —Charred wood and melted glass is all that remains of about one third of the northern portion of the former retail annex to the world-famous Coco Palms after a Thursday morning blaze further decimated a once-iconic hotel already in disrepair for years.
“There’s nothing left,” said Hawai‘i Movie Tours owner Bob Jasper, who was on scene with wife Jerri as soon as hotel caretaker Wayne Perreira alerted them to the situation.
Approximately 1,000 square feet of the wooden building’s second floor was destroyed early Thursday morning, amounting to some $80,000 in damage, according to a county press release.
“It’s very sad,” Jerri Jasper said after firefighters left the property for a second time around 10:30 a.m. “We’re just really relieved they stopped it as quick as they did.”
Coco Palms is important to the Jaspers’ business as Hawai‘i Movie Tours has tours of the property for visitors and provides free visits for kama‘aina twice each month.
The blaze was initially deemed under control before 4 a.m. following a response from firefighters to a 3:05 a.m. alarm. But reports of a flare-up prompted them to return around 9:30 a.m., according to the county press release.
The fire “had to be manmade because there is no power in the building,” Bob Jasper said.
Whether it was intentionally started is anyone’s guess at this point, Jerri Jasper said.
However, vandalism, theft and squatters have been common occurrences since Hurricane ‘Iniki obliterated the property in 1992. The fence — built about a decade ago — has been ineffective at thwarting trespassers, Bob Jasper said.
“Someone’s responsible for this,” he said.
Even if it was a “camper” trying to keep warm by building a fire, they should still be held accountable, Jerri Jasper said. “People should know better.”
This is the second time a fire has hit the hotel since it opened in 1953, said Larry Rivera, an entertainer who worked at Coco Palms for several decades.
“A long time ago, the library burned down,” he said Thursday.
This time, however, keepsakes were safe, Rivera said, as he carted boxes full of Coco Palms memorabilia away from the smoldering ruins.
“This place is very near and dear to my heart and this is just a shame,” Jerri Jasper said, adding that she hopes someone will come forth if they witnessed anything “suspicious.”
Although the Kaua‘i “landmark” is a mere shadow of what it once was, she said she would like to see the 400-room hotel “come back” to life some day.
To be able to “focus on the rich history,” allow it to be open to the public and honor the kama‘aina would be ideal, Bob Jasper agreed. “This place means a lot to people.”
Pat Griffin, head of the Friends of Coco Palms steering committee dedicated to the acquisition of the Coco Palms property for public benefit, said Thursday that Coco Palms has a long, important history.
“It was a place that was open to local folks as well as grand travelers, very well-known entertainment personalities as well as political and royal dignitaries,” she said. “It was a place that really in the early Kaua‘i resort era … set the standard for many years.”
She said the fishpond was designated on the National Register of Historic Places earlier this year.
“There was glamour to it and there was theater to it, and people really loved it. There are people who are now, 40 years later, still in contact with one another because their time visiting the Coco Palms was so special,” she said. “It holds so much history from so many periods in our past.”
Earlier this year, the Kaua‘i Planning Commission granted developers a three-year extension to various permits, giving them until 2013 to clean and refurbish the dilapidated historic hotel fronting Kuhio Highway in Wailua.
Demolition of the existing structure is one of the major hurdles standing in the way of the planned project, and it is unclear how the blaze impacts that objective.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, the county press release says. Anyone with information about the blaze can call Kaua‘i Fire Department Captain David Bukoski at 241-4982 or the main number 241-4980.
• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.
