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Trade winds
threaten brush
fire flare-ups
The Central Oahu blaze has
destroyed 300 acres but
seems contained for nowCommuters cope with an extra-long haul
By Jaymes K. Song,
Gregg K. Kakesako
and Rod Ohira
Star-BulletinFire crews extinguished a few flare-ups this morning in 300 smoldering acres of brush in the Waipio-Gentry area and continued to watch it carefully as gusty winds picked up.
A raging brush fire, which started yesterday afternoon, was contained late last night. But fire officials were concerned that 15-to-20-mph tradewinds could cause it to spark back up today.
Fire and military helicopters continued to drop water on the area this morning, while fire crews remained on standby. Most of the smoldering, causing a little smoke, is in the burned areas, said Battalion Chief Clayton Izu this morning.
Capt. Richard Soo, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman, said an aerial surveillance early this morning disclosed that the fire was still moving slowly down a 200-foot gully on the mauka side of the H-2 freeway.
However, H-2, which was closed for four hours yesterday as the afternoon commuter rush began, was open this morning in both directions.
The only road closed was the one leading to Mililani cemetery, where the fire started in a nearby ravine between H-2 and the Waiawa Correctional Facility at about 3 p.m.
An exhausted and red-eyed Capt. Albert Fernandez of the Waikele Fire Station and his crew were in good spirits this morning but were eager to have a new crew relieve them. They had been fighting the fire since yesterday and had only a couple of hours of sleep. They were busy this morning stomping through brush and extinguishing a small flare-up near the new Costco, which is scheduled to have its grand opening tomorrow.
At one time, more than 200 county and federal firefighters battled the blaze for hours, containing the fire to the mauka side of H-2.
Gusty winds threatened to spread the fire across the roadway yesterday, forcing the evacuation of Gentry Business Park on Ka Uka Boulevard and the closure of H-2 from about 3 p.m. to 6:47 p.m.
"With the high winds, the fire just ran," said Battalion Chief John Coe. "We had enough companies to surround the fire so it wouldn't go onto the freeway.
"It was burning in the gulch, but we can't get in there at night."
Yesterday's fire was the most serious in the area since the 1998 blaze, says Coe."We had a lot of brush that hadn't burned over a period of time, and it's been dry," Coe added. "The big one took 11 days to extinguish, and rain helped that one."
The Mililani engine company responded to the 2:54 p.m. alarm.
"When we saw the flames as we were coming over the hill, we knew it was going to be a long day," Mililani Capt. Mike Jewett said. "It was on about 50 acres and running like crazy."
Phillip Neal, the Mililani engine driver, added, "We were lucky to get there before it jumped the road."
To do that, the Mililani company went up the road toward the Waiawa Correctional Facility and then turned off on dirt roads leading to areas that were already burned.
"The fire can't come back to the burned area, so we can fight it in front of us," Jewett said.
"But the key to getting these things out is the helicopter. If not for the helicopter, we'd be here for weeks."
No property damage was reported yesterday.The Fire Department had 170 firefighters from 14 engine, three ladder and four tanker companies on scene, as well as its helicopter.
Forty-six federal firefighters were also involved.
The federal force included 5,000-gallon tankers from Hickam and the Marine base at Kaneohe, and a Hawaii Army National Guard CH-47 (Chinook) helicopter with a 2,000-gallon water bucket.
"We really appreciate the federal guys, who are always there to help us," Coe said.
He added that the fire started in a flat area, which is why the wind was able to spread it so fast.
"It started in an area between the H-2 freeway and Waiawa Correctional Facility, and within 20 minutes it was headed inland about a half-mile and about three-quarters of a mile toward Pearl City," Coe said.
Some firefighters have vivid memories of the March 1998 fire that torched 1,200 acres of Waiawa brush.
"We're hoping to contain it quicker this time," Battalion Chief Keith Williams said last night.
Commuters cope with
By Leila Fujimori
an extra-long haul
Star-BulletinJohn Norris attended a conference in Waikiki that ended at 4:30 p.m. yesterday.
He didn't get home to Mililani until 2-1/2 hours later -- a trip that normally takes one hour.
He was among numerous Central Oahu residents caught in the traffic snarl caused by a large brush fire in Waipio.
"When things like this happen, it ties everybody up," said Norris, a Mililani Neighborhood Board member. "We definitely have a traffic problem here. Whether it's via water or something, we definitely have to do something."
Ferry service, he acknowledged, is available. "Everybody is screaming and yelling, but nobody takes advantage of it."
Although the 75-passenger load for the 5:15 p.m. ferry from Aloha Tower to West Loch was just slightly above average yesterday, an extra run was scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Many were using it because they feared a slow commute on the highways home.
Katrina Sabio, with three children waiting for her, decided to take the ferry instead of the bus. She recalled being stuck on a bus ride once for three hours.
Joy Anderson, who works with Sabio on Bishop Street, said it normally takes just as long to catch the ferry as the bus and is inconvenient. "Because we're avoiding the fire, we thought we'd try it," she said.
After the news of the freeway closing hit her downtown office, "Somebody said try the ferry," said Jill Rotolo, who lives in Ewa Beach.
She planned to have her husband pick her up when she reached the other end."This traffic is as bad as I've ever seen it," said Richard Poirier.
He left downtown at 5:15 p.m., made it to Waikele at 6:30 p.m. and had dinner. "I was going via Kunia, but they announced the H-2 was open, so I made a 180-degree turn."
"This happened once previously," he said. "Maybe it was one way. But it had never been closed this long. The problem is one way in, one way out. People don't realize this."
The Mililani Neighborhood Board, which Poirier heads, had passed a resolution on an alternate route.
"We'd like to see a road from Ka Uka Boulevard to Paiwa Interchange by the Waikele subdivision. Some people in Waikele don't want it because they think it'll bring more traffic down to their neighborhood."
"We need ... many major arterials going through our region, getting through our region," Poirier said.
When Denise Arestad-Asuncion heard the traffic report, she and her husband decided to shop and dine at Ala Moana Center to avoid the heavy traffic.
"On our way home, we took Kamehameha Highway part of the way and decided it was a bad move," she said. "We went back on the freeway and it was better."
Arestad-Asuncion, who is 38-weeks pregnant and has been having contractions, thought on the ride home: "What if I do go into labor and we're stuck in traffic?" But the family arrived home an hour and a half later, at 8:30 p.m., without any new additions.
Traffic on the H-1 was relatively free-flowing at 9 p.m.
But the cars were still jammed on Kamehameha Highway.
Dan Tanji, who lives two streets below the new Costco in Waipio, tried to return home about 8:45 p.m.
But Moaniani Street that links Ka Uka Boulevard to his street was closed from Costco to his street.
"I had to go around the block to get to my house," Tanji said.
Inside, his house smelled "pretty smoky."
He had been out all day and learned through TV news that the fire had crossed onto his side of the H-2.
But Tanji wasn't concerned about his house. "It's happened before. It's pretty similar to the last time." Because the H-2 lies between his home and the fire, he wasn't concerned.
"This time it crossed, but it's only a house," Tanji said. "I guess most people would be worried."
Tanji kept the air conditioning on, trying to keep the smoke out.
