Some of Hilo’s
big fireworks stolen

Fireworks pose extreme danger
in dry areas of the Big Island

By Rod Thompson
Star-Bulletin

HILO -- The theft of about $400 worth of fireworks won't make too much difference in the Lehua Jaycees' Fourth of July fireworks show over Hilo Bay this year, but it could pose added fire hazards on very dry parts of the island.

Lee Mori, chairman of the Jaycees' fireworks committee, said a single pallet with roughly $6,500 worth of fireworks was shipped to Honolulu, then sealed in a smaller container and barged to Hilo, arriving Monday.

On arrival, dock workers noticed that the seal was broken, but a Jaycees representative couldn't pick up the shipment until Thursday, when a report was made to police.

About $400 worth of fireworks were missing, Mori said. Most were 40 three-inch shells, but a 300-shot "display cake" was also missing, he said.

The display cake was a new item for the Jaycees' annual show, intended to begin the program with an especially large burst, he said.

Although the three-inch shells are gone, the Jaycees' have larger ones up to eight inches, Mori said.

The danger is two fold:

The three-inch shells have to be fired from metal tubes.

The person who stole them could rain fire into dry areas instead of Hilo Bay.

County Civil Defense chief Harry Kim said much of the Big Island poses a "high" or "extreme" fire hazard, even with common fireworks.

North and South Kohala, including the residential areas of Waimea and Waikoloa, are in the extreme category, he said. Kau is also extremely dry.

Those areas have been in drought status for two years.

They are so dry that in the past six months people have made several reports of fires that turned out to be large clouds of dust, he said.