Brush fire burns in forest reserve

State, Kauai County and private personnel continued to battle a 40-acre brush fire Tuesday on Milo­lii Ridge in the Na Pali-Kona Forest Reserve, said the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The fire began Monday and is not spreading rapidly, officials said. The cause of the fire was not determined Tuesday.

A county Fire Department helicopter and two private helicopters made water drops, while firefighters on the ground worked with two wildfire trucks and water pump units.

Man wanted in stabbing

Hawaii County police said Tuesday they are seeking a 29-year-old man for questioning in connection with a stabbing last week in Kailua-Kona.

Police said they are looking for Tommy Eugan Howard, who sometimes goes by the names Casino, Tommy Washington and Cesar Waltz. He has a tattoo of a chain of musical notes that runs from his left shoulder down his left arm.

Howard is also wanted by the Washington state Department of Corrections for failure to register as a sex offender, police said.

Howard is wanted in connection with a stabbing May 22 at Laa­loa Beach Park, also known as White Sands Beach, on Alii Drive. A 39-year-old Ocean View man told police he got into a verbal dispute with a man, who then reportedly stabbed him in the neck and fled in a white Jeep.

The victim was treated at Kona Community Hospital and released.

Police ask anyone with information on Howard to call Detective Walter Ah Mow at 326-4646, ext. 238, or the police nonemergency line at 935-3311.