PO‘IPU — A South Shore brush fire was deemed under control at 5:30 p.m. Sunday after burning more than 100 acres over the course of several hours, officials confirmed. Police dispatch received word about a fire on Grove Farm property
PO‘IPU — A South Shore brush fire was deemed under control at 5:30 p.m. Sunday after burning more than 100 acres over the course of several hours, officials confirmed.
Police dispatch received word about a fire on Grove Farm property near Maha‘ulepu Beach at 10:36 a.m., county spokesperson Mary Daubert said. Brush trucks from six of the seven fire stations on island responded along with heavy equipment operators from private companies.
A helicopter crew from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Mana provided water drops from roughly 4 to 6 p.m. Tom Clements, PMRF spokesman, said the contracted crew dropped 12 buckets on the fire.
Most of the responding agencies had left the scene by 7 p.m., but at press time a small crew of firefighters remained there to handle mop-up operations and put out hot spots. Plans were made for some Grove Farm employees to stand watch overnight in the event of flare-ups, a county news release says.
Unconfirmed reports on scanner traffic around 12:10 p.m. said the fire was “spread out in three directions.” Some five minutes later, it was reported that there were “four spot fires … flying in the wind … beyond what we can get to.”
Dispatch was reportedly “bombarded” with phone calls from residents and farmers who had been wondering whether they should evacuate the surrounding areas.
One firefighter from the Lihu‘e station who had been battling the blaze since 11 a.m. suffered some cramping and difficulty standing. Paramedics gave him an IV to rehydrate. Daubert said he was treated and released at the scene.
There were no other injuries reported, she said, and no structures were threatened.
The PMRF aerial support arrived on the scene from Mana at least an hour after fire officials called for such assistance, according to officials.
Clements said the off-duty crew responded as quickly as possible after receiving “proper notification.”
PMRF, which no longer has active Navy helicopters and pilots available for such work, now has the capability to provide aerial support through its contract with Croman, Clements said, adding that the response time should be “very similar.”
There was a “partial activation” of the Emergency Operations Center at around 3:40 p.m. to support the firefighting operation, Daubert said. Participants included Civil Defense, Kaua‘i Police Department and Kaua‘i Fire Department personnel. The EOC was closed at 6:45 p.m.
The cause of the fire was unknown as of press time, but recent dry conditions have increased the risk of fire, Daubert said.
“The public is asked to be cautious,” she said.
Ways to prevent brush fires from starting include: not tossing cigarettes out of car windows; when pulling to the side of the road, staying off dry grassy areas; not operating dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles on dry vegetation; extinguishing fires properly when cooking outdoors; never leaving a fire unattended; and removing brush from around one’s home.
The public was asked not to park on the side of the road in the area of the brush fire as it may hinder the fire fighting operation.
Coco Zickos, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.
