Brush fire in
Waianae almost out
Almost half of the city's
By Rod Ohira and Jaymes Song
fire squads were needed to
fight yesterday's flames
Star-BulletinFirefighting units today remained in Waianae Valley to put out periodic flare-ups of a brush fire that had threatened hundreds of homes on either side of Paheehee Ridge.
Officials said the fast-spreading fire, which started yesterday morning and was driven by gusting winds that swirled through the valley, was contained at about midnight.
By midafternoon yesterday, 27 of the city's 58 fire companies and six military units were involved in fighting the blaze along Halona Road on the east side of the ridge, and around the Hawaiian Homestead subdivision off Waianae Valley Road on the west side.
No serious injuries were reported. The Red Cross said nine people sought protection from harsh smoke at an evacuation shelter that was established at Waianae District Park.
One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion at Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, according to Mandy Shiraki, Emergency Medical Services field operations supervisor.
The fire, reported at 10:48 a.m., came within a few feet of some homes on Kapaekahi Street, but property loss was limited to four old, abandoned houses in the area.
"I was scared," Kapaekahi Street resident Pasa Teo said while spraying water on flames that had crept to within 10 feet of his back yard.
"Everybody's helping. There's a lot of ohana over here."Lowell Freitas, whose family has lived on Haleahi Street since going into the dairy business in 1957, said it's rare for a brush fire to threaten his home.
"This is only the second time that I can remember a fire going way up in the valley in 39 years," Freitas said. "It happened once before, in the early '90s.
"It usually goes the other way. But the wind made this one get out of control."
Gusting winds of up to 35 mph caused the fire to fan out and spread quickly once it crossed over to the west side of the ridge, said Assistant Fire Chief Gordon Mahiko.
"At about 2:45 it was pretty bad and out of control," Mahiko said.
"The flames were coming toward property lines, and people were being asked to evacuate. The smoke was so thick in some places, you couldn't see anything."
John DeSoto, the city councilman's father, added: "This is the worst one I ever seen because it's so close to the houses. The other ones were just in the mountains."Duley Palama watched from across the street as the fire crept through keawe behind several new homes being constructed on Kaneilio Street in the Hawaiian Homestead subdivision.
"This is getting too close and it's spooky," said Palama, who moved into his home 18 months ago. "This one's going through the whole valley."
About 1,000 homes were without power for about an hour after a utility pole broke.
"It's a whipping-type wind moving 30 to 35 miles per hour and changing direction all the time, so as fast as we can get water on the fire, the wind regenerates it," Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi said.
"It's one of the worse brush fires because this one comes down to homes."
The department at one point was close to upgrading the fire to a critical Level III stage, meaning more than half the city's companies would be employed in fighting it, Leonardi said.
Two Hawaii Army National Guard CH-47D Chinook helicopters, equipped with 2,000-gallon water buckets, and the Fire Department's chopper played key roles since the firefight was so widespread.
The brush fire reportedly started along the fence line at Lualualei, according to the Hawaii National Guard.
