FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM A huge brush fire burned yesterday in the gulch east of Waipio, along Mililani Memorial Park Road and the Ka Uka Boulevard exit of the H-2 freeway. Multiple fire companies were called to fight the blaze, which closed H-2 for several hours. Just before the freeway's closure, motorists drove into the smoke enveloping the Ka Uka Boulevard overpass.

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Mililani brush fire
burns 50 acres

Gusty winds were a major factor,
a fire official says

"We're moving like a snail. ... It's literally like a parking lot," driver Evelyn Chock said yesterday after heavy smoke from a brush fire shut down the H-2 freeway for several hours.

"We just passed Mililani Town Center. ... Within 45 minutes we moved approximately half a mile," she said.

The Aiea resident was on her way home from a baby shower in Waialua and considered turning around to go to Mililani Town Center to shop or eat to wait out the traffic.

As she pondered her possibilities, the brush fire was consuming more than 50 acres of grass and other vegetation at a site near Ka Uka Boulevard and the Mililani Memorial Park and Mortuary, where officials told 150 people to stay put until it was safe to leave.

Firefighters believe the blaze originated about 12:16 p.m. somewhere along the access road to the Waiawa Correctional Facility.

Mililani resident Marie Tutko was driving eastbound on Ka Uka Boulevard and was trying to make a left turn onto the H-2 freeway when she saw bright, orange flames on the hillside.

"It just spun out of control at that point," said Tutko, who was heading to the North Shore. "It kind of looked like vog. It was hazy."

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM A brush fire near the Mililani Memorial Park and Mortuary yesterday reached the Ka Uka exit, northbound on the H-2 freeway, which was closed for several hours. A mortuary official said most people waited in their cars or at grave sites until H-2 was reopened.

"The wind was a major factor," Fire Chief Tommy Perkins said.

Perkins said the winds carried the fire in a southerly direction toward the H-1/H-2 interchange, but once the winds shifted, fire crews were able to get the fire under control by 4:50 p.m.

Police reopened the freeway and Mililani Memorial Park Road by 5:15 p.m.

Police said no evacuations were necessary, but those visiting the cemetery and the Waiawa Correctional Facility were not allowed to leave until about 2:30 p.m. due to their proximity to the fire.

A duty manager at Mililani Mortuary said most people waited in their cars or at grave sites while the road was closed. An official at the correctional facility said the brush fire did not pose a threat to inmates.

Local businesses such as Costco and the Tony Group Autoplex remained open on the other side of H-2. Managers said the fire slowed down business. Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.