WAILUA Kintaro Japanese Restaurant was damaged in a fire Thursday night.
WAILUA — Kintaro Japanese Restaurant was damaged in a fire Thursday night.
There were no injuries.
Firefighters were dispatched to Kintaro, 4-370 Kuhio Highway, about 11:45 p.m. and arrived to find the garage fully engulfed in flames, with the fire extending into the restaurant area, according to a county press release Friday morning.
Firefighters from the Kapaa station were able to quickly knock down the flames in the garage, but couldn’t get inside the restaurant right away. More firefighters arrived to battle the blaze.
The fire was under control by 1:40 a.m. It took another few hours to be fully extinguished. The cost of damages is not yet known.
During the incident, Kuhio Highway between Haleilio Road and the south entrance to the Kapaa Bypass Road was closed from 12:30 a.m. to 4 a.m.
Kintaro will be closed while repairs are made.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Read tomorrow’s newspaper to hear the story from people who watched the building burn and are working to salvage the business.