Big Isle fire
contained

By Rod Thompson
Big Island correspondent

KAILUA-KONA -- State and county firefighters have contained a 3,000-acre forest and grassland fire in west Hawaii, which burned in an area considered valuable for native species, state officials said.

Crews were expected to continue mopping up numerous hot spots today.

The fire was reported at 10:35 a.m. Thursday on state land near near Queen Kaahumanu Highway, county Civil Defense chief Harry Kim said.

Initially it was limited to about 100 acres, but winds picked up at nightfall, whipped the flames uphill and extended the burn area, he said.

The fire reached Mamalahoa Highway five miles above Kaahumanu Highway and briefly jumped the upper road, threatening to race still higher, but was quickly contained, the Fire Department said.

County firefighters assisting state personnel remained at the scene during the night, keeping an eye on hot spots in the fire area, which stretched five miles up the west Hawaii hillside and was four miles wide, Kim said.

The land is used for hunting game birds and there were "high value" areas within the burn zone, Kim said.

The fire is in a valuable area of dryland forest which is "chock full" of endangered plant species, according to Michael Buck, head of the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

He said "a heroic effort" on the part of firefighters saved an additional 8,000 acres in higher elevations from being burned.

Mamalahoa Highway was closed Thursday night between Waikoloa town and Kona Palisades subdivision in Kailua-Kona but was reopened yesterday morning, police said.

As the fire continued to spread yesterday, the Forestry and Wildlife division, acting as lead agency, brought in 10 additional firefighters from Maui, Kim said. The total number of firefighters was not available.

Equipment used included two bulldozers and two helicopters.