Over 24 hours after they began, county officials said firefighters were still on the scenes of Waimea and Anahola brush fires yesterday, tending to flare-ups after Wednesday’s brush fires burned almost 300 acres of private and state land. The fires,
Over 24 hours after they began, county officials said firefighters were still on the scenes of Waimea and Anahola brush fires yesterday, tending to flare-ups after Wednesday’s brush fires burned almost 300 acres of private and state land.
The fires, which officials said burned over 80 acres in Waimea and 200 acres in Anahola, did only minor damage to a few homes in Anahola. One Kaua’i Fire Department firefighter suffered a minor injury.
A couple of tool sheds located on private property in Anahola were charred by the fire, and two dozen homes in the area near Kawelo Road were threatened by the fire, but no one was forced to evacuate their homes, county officials said.
KFD Fire Apparatus Operator Levon Wong was treated for a minor injury at Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital at the West Kauai Medical Center in Waimea, and later released, officials said.
While the fires were not deliberately set, fire officials believe the two could have been avoided.
According to KFD Battalion Chief Robert Kaden, the Anahola fire was caused by someone who was burning rubbish, and somehow it got out of control. In Waimea, fire officials suspect that someone tossed a lit cigarette out a car window, which started the fire.
“Having two fires occurring at the same time in different parts of the island stretched the resources of our fire department,” said Kaden. “The cooperation between fire, the private sector and the military really made a difference in this time of need.”
The call notifying KFD officials about the Waimea fire came in at 2 p.m., and within five minutes firefighters were on the scene. Twelve firefighters from the Waimea, Hanapepe, Kalaheo and Lihu’e stations, as well as the Inter-Island Helicopters (Air 1) rescue helicopter, were involved with putting out the Westside fire.
Additional help was received from Gay & Robinson personnel, who brought in their water tankers and bulldozers and cut fire breaks in the Waimea fire.
“They helped save the day,” said Kaden about the Gay & Robinson employees.
Three hours after the fire started in Waimea, firefighters had it under control, and left the scene at 8 p.m.
Numerous folks showed up to aid firefighters with the Anahola fire, said Kaden, including Rob Fernandez with the county’s Department of Public Works, and Kahea White, who used bulldozers to cut fire breaks. Darryl Low also brought his water tanker to help put out the fire.
Other people in the community manned water hoses to keep the fire away from residences.
Firefighters came from near and far to battle the Anahola fire. Kapa’a, Hanalei, Waimea and Kalaheo crews assisted. A total of 20 county firemen were at the scene.
Additionally, assistance was received from the Lihu’e Airport Crash/Fire/Rescue unit, headed by Fire Chief Gary Smith, an air crew from the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Ran ge Facility, and the crew on Air 2 (Inter-Island Helicopters).
The call alerting KFD officials of the Anahola fire came in Wednesday at 2:45 p.m., and by 11:32 p.m., the fire was contained. Firefighters left the scene at 1 a.m. Thursday.
They were back at the scene yesterday, though, officials said, as a flare-up started again around 2:30 p.m. yesterday.
A flare-up was also discovered during a spot check in Waimea, outside the original burn area, at about the same time, KFD officials said. Fire-fighters were still at the scene yesterday afternoon, again with assistance from Gay & Robinson employees.
Kaden expressed his appreciation to all who helped KFD firefighters, and said he was very proud of the outstanding job performed by Kaua’i firefighters and community members in fighting the brush fires that threatened the two communities.
