Man, 48, arrested on suspicion of arson in Waikiki surfboard racks fire
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
The surfboard racks in Waikiki by the Waikiki Police substation and the Moana Surfrider, seen Monday, after they were destroyed in a fire on Sunday.
COURTESY JACQUELIN KRONICK
Flames were seen from a structure fire, Sunday, in Waikiki.
Police arrested a 48-year-old man Tuesday morning for first-degree arson in connection with a fire that on Sunday destroyed surfboard racks next to Honolulu Police Department’s Waikiki substation and caused significant damage to the exteriors of the Waikiki Beachside Bistro and Moana Surfrider hotel, according to the Honolulu Fire Department. Charges are pending.
The Fire Department on Monday turned over the investigation of the two-alarm blaze to HPD after determining it was intentionally set.
Ten HFD units and more than three dozen firefighters responded to the fire at about 11:18 a.m. Sunday, and the blaze was extinguished just after noon. No injuries were reported.
Total damage is estimated at $650,000, including $100,000 to the surf lockers, $300,000 to the contents of the lockers (surfboards) and $250,000 to the adjacent building structures, fire officials said. Some 500 boards were destroyed in the fire. HPD’s Waikiki substation, meanwhile, sustained minimal damage.
On Sunday, Honolulu police arrested a 43-year-old man at 11:48 a.m. near the scene on suspicion of arson. He was released Sunday night.
The same surf racks were destroyed in a fire in February 2020. That fire was also determined to be intentionally set, but a suspect was never arrested.
