The Ala Moana fireworks display Sunday lit up the Nauru Towers at left in this view from Punchbowl. Fifty-three of 70 fires on Oahu on Sunday have been attributed to fireworks.
Fireworks spark
53 blazes on OahuAbout three-quarters
of the fires July Fourth are
blamed on holiday merrymaking
Seventy-five percent of fires that occurred on Oahu on Independence Day were fireworks-related, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.
Fifty-three of 70 fires that occurred Sunday could have been caused by fireworks, said fire Capt. Kenison Tejada. As of 4:30 p.m. yesterday, at least seven more fires -- four brush fires and three rubbish fires -- were also blamed on fireworks.
Last year, 76 fires from July 3 to 5 were fireworks-related, compared with 33 during the same period in 2002.
However, firefighters had no figures on Saturday's fireworks-related fires, and a final count on fireworks-related fires for the three days is expected to be released today.
Forty-one brush fires were reported on Sunday compared with 45 brush fires last year. Fourteen rubbish fires were also reported compared with 11 rubbish fires last year.
A total of 253 permits were sold at satellite city halls islandwide as of noon Saturday compared with 179 permits that were sold last year. Fire Capt. Emmit Kane said they expect to have a final count of permit sales today.
On Kauai, nine of 10 brush fires were possibly caused by fireworks, said Battalion Chief Gregg Morishige of the Kauai Fire Department.
"Most of them were really manageable, nothing really large," said Morishige. As of 4:30 p.m. yesterday, no additional brush fires occurred on Kauai.
Seven brush fires on Maui were attributed to fireworks, said Assistant Fire Chief Alan Cordeiro.
A fireworks display in Wailuku sparked a blaze, said Cordeiro. Another fire possibly caused by fireworks occurred at the Hana Cultural Center. Cordeiro said a reproduction of a Hawaiian hale that measured 15 by 30 by 20 feet was destroyed.
Like Morishige, Cordeiro said the brush fires that occurred on Maui Sunday were manageable.
No fireworks-related injuries were reported on Oahu, Maui and Kauai.
Figures for fireworks-related fires on the Big Island are expected to be released shortly.
Honolulu Fire Department
www.honolulufire.org
