Waimea fire eases, evacuation lifted

Hawaii County officials Sunday night lifted a mandatory evacuation order for Pu‘u Kapu Hawaiian Homestead, Waikii Ranch and Waikoloa Village, saying the threat to homes in the area was no longer imminent.

Evacuation shelters at the Old Kona Airport in Kailua­-Kona and Waimea District Park remained open, and officials asked residents of the affected areas to return home only if “absolutely necessary.”

They warned that smoke and other conditions could make returning unsafe for those with prior and underlying respiratory conditions.

Both Highway 190 from Lalamilo Farm to Waikoloa roads and the Old Saddle Road remained closed as of Sunday evening, making Waikii Ranch inaccessible to residents, officials said.

They said Waikoloa is accessible only from the Queen Kaahumanu Highway portion of Waikoloa Road.

Officials also cautioned that Waimea and South Kohala “are still very much under threat of the ongoing brush fire, and residents are asked to remain on high alert through the evening.”

Firefighters were expected to continue battling the brush fire overnight.

As of Sunday afternoon the brush fire had consumed at least 40,000 acres of land in northwestern Hawaii island and forced thousands of residents to evacuate the area.

The fire began Friday morning near Mana Road.

There were about 50 fire apparatus being used to control the fire, and over 140 personnel, county officials said.

The U.S. National Guard was also being brought in to assist.

Hawaii Fire Department Chief Kazuo Todd said Sunday that high winds had made the blaze difficult to control.

County Council member Tim Richards, who represents the area, said it was the worst fire in the area he had seen.

“I’ve never seen as big a problem as we’ve seen (this weekend), and I was born and raised in Waikoloa Village,” he said.

“But I’ve never seen the community work so hard to get it together to try and get things handled.”

Richards was also concerned about the recovery phase after the fire is put out.

“Our poor little county has been through so much,” he said.

“There have been homes lost in the Hawaiian homes area, and there’s going to be a rebuilding phase we’re going to have to go through.”

Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth urged residents to stay out of the area if possible.

“The air quality is not great,” Roth said. “I’ve been up there myself looking at things. I can tell you that we have people working very hard.”