Two brush fires that disrupted traffic at opposite ends of Kailua this week appear to have been set, Fire Department investigators determined.
The larger of the two fires scorched about 400 acres of brush behind Kalaheo High School and the neighboring Kalaheo Hillside community, prompting police to close a section of H-3 freeway Tuesday and Wednesday.
As that fire subsided Wednesday afternoon, a new fire broke out two miles away, along Kailua Road mauka of the entrance to Kailua town.
That fire, near the Kawainui Marsh levee, started about 4:45 p.m. and burned about 2 acres, said Capt. Terry Seelig, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman.
He said it is believed to have been arson. Witnesses told police they saw two men leave the area quickly soon after the fire began, Seelig said.
Police closed the Honolulu-bound lanes of Kailua Road just after 5 p.m. Firefighters contained the blaze, and the lanes were reopened at 7:25 p.m. The fire was not near homes and the Kailua-bound lanes remained open.
Two miles away, longtime Kalaheo Hillside residents said Tuesday’s brush fire was the worst they have experienced. Flames came within 25 to 50 yards of some homes.
Firefighters continued to tackle hot spots Wednesday and H-3 freeway was closed intermittently. As of sundown, no new areas were being threatened by the fire, Seelig said.
The fire appeared to have started Tuesday afternoon in an area of vegetation about 100 yards behind Kailua Assembly of God Church, where there were two makeshift forts or clubhouses, he said.
Physical evidence showed several points of origin of the fire close to the structures, Seelig said.
"They didn’t have roofs, they didn’t have walls, just a framework for putting up a tent," he said.
Seelig said they did not appear to be homeless encampments, but more like gathering places. There were trails leading to the structures.
The Kaneohe-bound lanes of H-3 between Mokapu Boulevard and Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay were reopened about 1:27 p.m. Wednesday, about four hours after they were closed to allow firefighters to battle strategic points of the fire.
On Tuesday, strong winds blew the fire up the flank of Kalaheo Hillside away from homes, but toward Kaneohe and H-3, where firefighters were waiting. Rough and steep terrain and the length of the hoses made it difficult for firefighters to reach the upper flanks, Seelig said.
H-3 formed a de facto firebreak and Kaneohe homes were never in serious danger, fire officials said. Much of Kaneohe town, however, and Yacht Club Terrace townhouse residents in particular, were hit by thick smoke and ash.
Reports of the smell of smoke from the fire came from as far away as Ewa Beach.
