Fast-moving West Kauai brush fire 100% contained, evacuation order lifted
HANAPEPE (HawaiiNewsNow) - A fast-moving brush fire in West Kauai has been 100% contained and the evacuation order for Kaumakani residents has been lifted, Kauai Fire Department said on Tuesday.
Power was restored to the area around 3 a.m. and a water conservation notice for Hanapepe, Waimea and Kekaha customers was lifted around 6 a.m.
The fire scorched approximately 1,100 acres of land between Hanapepe and Kaumakani.
With the fire fully contained, the evacuation notice for Kaumakani residents was dropped at approximately 11:55 p.m. Tuesday.
KFD personnel maintained a fire watch throughout Monday night, with N5 sensors installed in to detect flare-ups.
“Full containment (Monday night) about midnight. Our crews were on fire watch to patrol the area. We did have several spot fires and flare ups that we’ve been managing as they come up as we go into (Tuesday),” KFD Fire Chief Mike Gibson told Hawaii News Now. “We’ve maintained our helicopter resources that have been here waiting overnight and we’ll get up in the air and make sure the fires are out.”
The shelters at Waimea High School and Hanapepe Neighborhood Center were closed as of 5 a.m. Tuesday. About 150 people were reported in the shelters Monday night.
Fire officials confirmed one structure in Kaumakani Camp was destroyed in the fire but no injuries have been reported and no homes were destroyed.
The fire was initially reported near Moi Road in Hanapepe shortly before noon on Monday.
The fast-moving blaze prompted the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative to de-energize powerlines for parts of West Kauai, which impacted roughly 1,100 customers.
Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, serving as acting governor, signed an emergency proclamation authorizing the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and National Guard to assist in emergency response efforts.
Luke says it was the urgent call from Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami that prompted her quick response to deploy the National Guard to Kauai.
“If it wasn’t for the quick thinking of Mayor Kawakami, alerting me to the situation, the National Guard air support couldn’t have got here until tomorrow,” Luke said.
“We are just dealing with a very dry part of our island, and then we have a historic neighborhood filled with generational families, and those homes are very flammable, but our number one concern is the health and safety and life of our people,” Kawakami said.
Firefighters from multiple agencies battled the fire on the ground and in the air. A bulldozer was also quickly utilized to cut a fire break away from homes.
One Hanapepe resident said the flames got within roughly 50 yards from their property.
“My daughter was hysterical,” said Anthony Cruz. “She came running out in the garage, and she said, ‘dad, there’s a fire,’ and so I thought it was in the house, and she said, ‘no, it’s in the back.’”
Shortly before 2:55 a.m. Tuesday, Kaumualii Highway, between Lele Road in Hanapepe and Kaumakani near Aloha Sweet Delites, was re-opened for two-way tarffic.
Officials say the Kauai Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Operation Center is now partially activated while fire crews continue to monitor hot spots.
For any Kaumakani residents who are missing their pet, they are asked to call the Kauai Humane Society at 808-632-0610.
Fire Prevention Bureau investigators are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire.
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