KOKE‘E — The Hikimoe Ridge forest fire was 75 percent contained by 3:30 p.m. Sunday, according to firefighting officials. State Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Kaua‘i County Fire Department have reportedly “turned the corner” in their efforts
KOKE‘E — The Hikimoe Ridge forest fire was 75 percent contained by 3:30 p.m. Sunday, according to firefighting officials.
State Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Kaua‘i County Fire Department have reportedly “turned the corner” in their efforts to fight the forest fire, Deborah Ward of the DLNR said Sunday.
“Favorable weather conditions — higher humidity and calmer winds — are continuing,” Ward said, adding that the burned acreage is holding at 652 acres.
Today’s focus “will be on mopping up, using all resources,” Ward said.
Meanwhile, emergency road repairs on Koke’e Road will be continuing today from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and may be extended to Tuesday.
Koke’e Road is closed for repair work from Kekaha Road to Waimea Canyon Drive. Flagmen are at the site directing Koke‘e-bound traffic to Waimea Canyon Drive.
The repair work is being done as a result of a June 26 spill caused when a tanker carrying jet fuel to the helicopters fighting the fire overturned.
According to Ward, as of Sunday there were 48 DOFAW and 14 Kaua‘i Fire Department crew on the fire line.
There were also two helicopters doing water drops, along with two water tenders and two bulldozers assisting the effort.
Firefighters from other islands had been assisting in the firefighting effort, but those crews were expected to be demobilized by Tuesday.
The fire was just 15 percent contained on Friday.
The voluntary evacuation of nearby hunting units A and J, along with cabins in the Pu‘u Ka Pele section of Waimea Canyon State Park, remain as a precaution until fire conditions no longer pose a threat of spreading to these areas.
For more information on the partial closure of Koke‘e Road, call Ed Renaud at 652-9164.
