A tractor-trailer fire that caused $100,000 in damage closed three westbound lanes of the H-1 freeway near the airport Thursday morning, Honolulu Fire Department officials said.
The Honolulu Police Department said the fire was near the airport offramp, closing the three right lanes for about 3-1/2 hours.
HFD responded at 11:06 a.m. with two fire companies. The first unit arrived at 11:11 a.m. to find the tractor part of the vehicle ablaze.
Firefighters brought the flames under control at 11:16 a.m. and fully extinguished the fire by 11:27 a.m.
Firefighters then found that the shipping container carried office supplies, which had ignited from the heat of the tractor fire, HFD spokesman Capt. David Jenkins said in a news release.
Three more companies were sent to provide additional personnel and equipment to extinguish what HFD called a “deep-seated fire.”
HFD used cutting tools to open the container to get to the burning contents.
The shipping container fire was extinguished by 1:18 p.m.
The fire remains under investigation and no cause has been determined.
The damage estimate to the tractor and the contents of the trailer is $100,000, and the vehicle is considered to be a total loss, Jenkins said.
The lanes were reopened at about 2:40 p.m.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Man arrested over stabbing on Big Island
Hawaii County police arrested a 61-year-old man who allegedly stabbed a 24-year-old man following an argument outside a Pahoa home Wednesday night.
Police arrested the older Pahoa man on suspicion of first-degree assault.
He allegedly had been arguing with the younger man outside a home on the 13-800 block of Pohoiki Road.
The victim was stabbed multiple times, police said. He was taken in serious but stable condition to Hilo Medical Center.
Another resident intervened and inflicted minor injuries to the older man’s head, police said.
The Hawaii County Fire Department’s paramedics treated the older man at the scene before taking him to the Hilo cellblock.
Police have not yet charged anyone in the incident.
Hilo man dies after river takes him downstream
An 18-year-old man died Wednesday after being swept down the Wailuku River in Hilo.
Hawaii island police said Kevin Ishikawa of Hilo had been crossing the river after swimming with three friends near the Piihonua Bridge when he was swept downstream at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Two of his friends pulled him from the river and performed CPR until emergency personnel arrived.
Ishikawa was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:24 p.m., police said.
A coroner’s inquest and an autopsy will be conducted.
