Koloa brush fire extinguished

KOLOA — County of Kaua‘i officials said a brush fire in Koloa was extinguished on Tuesday afternoon, roughly one week after two other fires broke out on the east side of the island.

County officials sent out a brush fire notice at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 5, stating that the Kaua‘i Fire Department (KFD) was responding to a brush fire in the vicinity of the water tank near Koloa Road

The county also stated the Kaua‘i Police Department was assisting by rerouting traffic in the area.

At approximately 1 p.m., the county sent out an update stating the KFD had extinguished the fire and cleared the scene.

“No injuries were reported and no structures were threatened or damaged,” according to the county statement.

The update provided no further detail on the incident. The county was unable to provide any information on the cause of the fire, how long it was burning, or how many firefighters were at the scene.

“We have yet to receive a report from the Kaua‘i Fire Department,” said county spokesperson Alden Alayvilla in an email response to The Garden Island on Tuesday afternoon. “When we do, we’ll push out a news release,” he added.

The fire comes roughly one week after county officials extinguished two brush fires on the eastside of the island on Aug. 29.

The National Weather Service has declared multiple red flag warnings for the leeward areas of the Hawaiian Islands due to gusty winds and low humidity throughout the month of August, with the most recent warning ending on Aug. 31.

After the earlier incidents, the KFD advised the public to take precautions to prevent fires, including refraining from outdoor burning and cooking, not using yard work and other mechanized equipment outdoors, not driving vehicles in dry or tall grass, being aware of wind directions, reporting all possible fires and having an escape route in place.

KFD Chief Michael Gibson previously told The Garden Island that the public should exercise these precautions even when a red flag warning is not in effect.

“We always want people to be cautious,” said Gibson in an interview when the county was under a previous red flag warning on Aug. 9.

That interview occurred about one day after wildfires on Maui devastated the historic town of Lahaina, leaving at least 115 people dead and hundreds still missing.

At the time, Gibson emphasized that people on Kaua‘i should be vigilant to prevent a similar situation in the county.

“Even if we’re not under a red flag, we’re still under dry conditions,” said Gibson at the time. “Even if it doesn’t say red flag, we can still have a bad event. So just that term red flag isn’t the only time we can get a fire like that,” he added.

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Emma Grunwald, reporter, can be reached 808-652-0638 or egrunwald@thegardenisland.com.