13-year-old suspect
‘fit right in’

The alleged teenage arsonist in
Nanakuli is described by officials
as similar to other kids

A 13-year-old boy who allegedly set a cemetery blaze last week, spawning a major brush fire that charred 3,000 acres in Nanakuli, was no more mischievous than his fellow students, school officials said Friday.

The unidentified boy, a seventh-grader at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of second-degree criminal property damage and later released to his parents without charges.

If charged and convicted, the teen could be kept in a juvenile facility until he is 18.

School officials have asked the boy's parents to keep him at home for the rest of the academic year because the teen could face heckling or other retaliation from students.

But reaction to the arrest has been subdued around campus. Most of the older students are accustomed to brush fires, which flare up almost every year in the area, and the accused teen isn't well-known on campus, school administrators said.

"The joke on the Leeward Coast is 'When's the brush fire's going to start up?"' Principal Levi Chang said. "Nobody's really talking about it. We're just glad it's over." He said the boy was not especially troublesome and "fit right in with his peers."

Meanwhile, the boy's former elementary school is abuzz with gossip about him and students seemed more affected emotionally by the situation.

"The rumors are rampant," said Wendy Takahashi, principal of Nanakuli Elementary.

She said the boy wasn't a major troublemaker.

"He was a little bit rascal, but it wasn't like he was the worst kid," Takahashi said.

Honolulu police Chief Boisse Correa said the young student acted alone.

Police have increased surveillance in the area to nab any would-be arsonists.

The brush fires, which spread from a cemetery at the back of Nanakuli Valley, threatened homes, schools and about 60 rare indigenous animals and plants.

Several firefighters were injured as they rotated in and out of the fiery brush and rocky terrain, fire officials said, and fire protection across the island was stretched dangerously thin.

On some days, the department had 22 fire companies, or half of its resources, on the scene at once, said Honolulu Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi. The department had to deploy more than 100 firefighters to Nanakuli on the worst days.

"It thinned out resources for the rest of the island," said Captain Kennison Tejada. "In the case of medical emergencies or certain fires where the minutes are crucial, there would have been at least a few minutes delay."

The department spent about $15,000 extra in overtime and meals. Vehicle repair will cost another several thousand dollars, Tejada estimated.

The city attorney will decide if he will pursue restitution from the boy's family, Tejada said.

The brush fires flared up on May 10 and took nine days for firefighters to extinguish. It was the largest brush fire in Hawaii this year.

Brush fires spiked this year on Oahu as hot spring weather dried out plants that had grown thick and high during the unusually wet winter. More than 200 brush fires were reported as of May 12, compared with 89 reported the same time last year, the fire department said.