KOKE‘E — Crews continued to fight high winds and dry conditions to contain the Koke‘e brush fire that is now reported to be 85 percent contained. Waimea Canyon Road was reopened Tuesday while Koke‘e Road remains closed until further notice.
KOKE‘E — Crews continued to fight high winds and dry conditions to contain the Koke‘e brush fire that is now reported to be 85 percent contained.
Waimea Canyon Road was reopened Tuesday while Koke‘e Road remains closed until further notice.
Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative workers fought the heat in an attempt to have power back by Tuesday evening, ahead of the original estimate for Wednesday.
KIUC spokesperson Shelly Paik spent Tuesday at Koke‘e, where she said 16 employees worked all day replacing burned utility poles and damaged power lines. Line crews worked into the evening using headlamps to replant the last of five poles they replaced Monday, she said in a news release.
Once the work is completed, KIUC said service would be restored for the first time since KIUC shut down the Koke‘e power line Saturday morning as brush fires moved through the area.
Two water tanks and a pump house are no longer threatened, according to a news release from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
State firefighting crews assisted by Kaua‘i Fire Department personnel continued efforts Tuesday to extinguish the wildfire along the Poki‘i, Paua and Waiaka ridges.
Firefighters estimate that about 3,000 acres have burned since the fire started Friday, according to Deborah Ward of DLNR Communications.
A total of 55 personnel were involved, including private contractors, county public works and three DOCARE officers for security purposes. Equipment included nine engines, two bulldozers and five water tenders, Ward said.
On Tuesday, crews focused on putting out hot spots and mopping up fire edges. They have been opening up existing roads in the abandoned cane fields to reach areas of burning guinea grass and other brush.
Waimea Canyon and Koke‘e State Parks are open; however, park restrooms and water systems are unable to function without power, and are therefore closed. Portable toilets are being provided.
Camping within the Koke‘e Campsite will remain open, with portable toilets provided. However, there is no guarantee that water or power will be available to campers.
Michelle Hookano, an associate of the Hui O Laka Koke‘e Museum, said employees were not able to reach the museum until Tuesday when they opened for the first time in two days.
“Until this morning no one could even come up since Saturday,” Hookano said. “The fire was far away from us but the wind unfortunately was blowing toward Waimea Canyon Drive and they closed the road early Saturday afternoon.”
There is still no power to the museum, but the windows allow enough light for people to browse the book and maps, she said. The workers are answering questions and giving visitor directions.
“There are plenty of phone calls,” Hookano said. “It’s the only thing that works.”
The Department of Water continues to request that Kekaha residents limit water consumption to essential uses only until power can be restored to a water storage tank that services the area.
