A community hospital was evacuated on Hawaii island and three homes on Maui sustained some damage as wind-powered wildfires wreaked havoc on both islands Monday afternoon.
About 8 p.m., Hawaii County firefighters were still battling a blaze that had burned an estimated 600 acres of macadamia and coffee farm lands in Pahala, an agricultural town in the southern district of Kau.
About 15 patients and an unknown number of staff at the 21-bed Kau Hospital were relocated 13 miles away to Naalehu Community Center because of smoke caused by the wildfire, which came within 75 yards of the hospital property, said Hawaii County Assistant Fire Chief Aaron Arbles.
After the fire jumped Mamalahoa Highway, county police shut down the only artery in the area between mile markers 50 and 51 at 4:05 p.m., effectively shutting down vehicular access for motorists heading south between Kona and Volcano. Police reopened the highway at 8:50 p.m.
Arbles said firefighters using bulldozers were trying to cut a break around a 10,000-gallon diesel storage tank on the makai side of the highway.
"We don’t know how much fuel is in that," he said, adding that it was in the middle of a macadamia nut orchard.
Winds that in the afternoon were as strong as 15-30 mph had slowed at dusk, making firefighting easier, Arbles said.
The fire stayed largely away from residential sections of Pahala.
On Maui, three homes were damaged in Kula and residents along Hapapa Road were evacuated as a result of a fire that began shortly after noon and burned about 6 acres, said Lee Mainaga, Maui Fire Department fire services chief.
One house sustained some roof damage. The other two sustained minor damage, he said.
It is unclear how many people were evacuated, he said. They were allowed back to their homes about 6 p.m., when the fire was declared about 60 percent contained. Crews were expected to remain on the scene to monitor hot spots through the night.
About 55 firefighters fought the blaze. Besides 30 mph winds, firefighters had to contend with steep terrain, narrow roads, gulches and heavy fuel in the form of eucalyptus and wattle trees, Mainaga said.
Meanwhile, about a dozen firefighters from the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife battled a separate fire in the Makawao State Forest Reserve above the Kahakapao Reservoir in the area of Olinda.
About 4 acres had burned as of late Monday afternoon and about 12 people were in the field, said state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman Deborah Ward.
Weather conditions contributed to the fire, Ward said. A high wind advisory was issued by the National Weather Service for the fire area, with winds of 15-25 mph and gusts up to 50 mph.
Earlier in the day, state officials closed the Kula State Forest Reserve, including Polipoli Spring State Park, due to high winds and danger caused by falling trees and branches. About 10 people camping at the park or other parts of Haleakala National Park were evacuated.
Closure signs were posted at the Waipoli Road gate and the Skyline Road gate.
