Police closed the Koko Head entrance to Ala Moana Regional Park on Wednesday because of a developing sinkhole.

The road was closed near Atkinson Drive at about 4 p.m.

Nathan Serota, spokesman for the city Department of Parks and Recreation, said that while there wasn’t a hole in the road’s surface, a void beneath it was causing a depression a couple of feet wide in the middle of the street. Cones were placed over the area when it was noticed in the morning, and the road was closed after the depression continued to grow.

The road will remain closed until a contractor can conduct an inspection, possibly as early as today, to determine the cause, Serota said.

In July last year, a sinkhole shut down the Ewa entrance to the park near Kamakee Street. Shortly after that sinkhole appeared, only a small hole was visible on the surface of the pavement, but officials said about 4 feet of road had been undermined beneath Ala Moana Park Drive.

Serota said that sinkhole was caused by leaking drainage pipes beneath the roadway. The 48-inch pipes, which carry tidal waters between Kewalo Basin Harbor and the lagoon inside the park, were repaired. 2

2 escape blaze at Nanakuli duplex

Honolulu firefighters extinguished a two-alarm fire at a duplex in Nanakuli on Wednesday morning.

The Honolulu Fire Department responded with 11 units and 36 personnel to the 11:30 a.m. alarm at 87-1740 Farrington Highway. Smoke and flames were coming from one of the units of a single-story duplex home. A man and an infant in the home escaped uninjured.

The fire was brought under control shortly after noon and extinguished by 12:23 p.m.

HFD investigators have classified the fire’s cause as undetermined. Both units sustained heavy damage, with an estimated $200,000 in damage to the structure and $30,000 to the contents.

Gas water heater caused Halawa home fire

Fire investigators determined a malfunctioning gas water heater caused a fire that heavily damaged a townhouse at Crosspointe in Halawa on Wednesday.

No one was injured in the blaze, but two of the building’s 12 units were heavily damaged by fire, smoke and water. Damage was estimated at $463,000, and several occupants were displaced, the Honolulu Fire Department said.

The fire broke out shortly before 7:12 a.m. and was brought under control at 7:47 a.m. Nine companies staffed with 32 firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire at 594 Mananai Place.

Residents of the townhouse were not home at the time of the fire.

Police investigate Kailua sex assault case

Police are investigating an alleged sex assault that occurred in Kailua. A 34-year-old woman reported she was sexually assaulted at about 1 p.m. Monday, according to police.

She initially met the suspect at a restaurant. When they left the establishment, police said the suspect sexually assaulted the victim behind a building.