Fire damages house on Pali Highway

A mother and her son were displaced Thursday morning by a fire that damaged their two-bedroom home on Pali Highway.

Damage was estimated at $180,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The fire was reported at 6:44 a.m. and extinguished by 7:11 a.m.

The Red Cross was called to the scene to help the 50-year-old woman and her 20-year-old son who live in the home in the 2700 block of Pali Highway. Neither of the occupants was home when the fire started.

No other structures in the lane near the South Korean Consulate General was affected.

The two-alarm fire caused a major disruption for morning commuters coming into town on Pali Highway because two lanes had to be closed to accommodate the firetrucks.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Man charged with murder

A 37-year-old Napili man was charged with murder after a fight Monday with a fellow maintenance worker on Maui.

William Ranep is charged with killing Danny Jose of Lahaina in the parking lot of the Napili Plaza in Lahaina.

Police officers responded to reports of a fight at 7 p.m. and were told that the suspect had driven away in a white pickup truck that belonged to the maintenance firm, leaving Jose unresponsive.

Police found the suspect in the truck three hours later.

Jose was taken to the Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition and placed in the intensive care unit. He died Tuesday night.

Ranep’s bail was set at $100,000.