Crews controlling Big Island fires
Crews controlling Big Island fires
30 October 2007
published by starbulletin.com
Hawaii — Big Island firefighters continued to work today to contain twobrush fires that started Sunday.
The fire off the Akoni Pule Highway in North Kohala was 90 percent containedthis morning, said Hawaii Civil Defense Administrator Troy Kindred.
The fire at Puako was still 50 percent contained, but Kindred said officialsare not worried about the fire spreading, he said. Archaeological sites in thearea have complicated containment measures, he added.
As a result, firefighters are sawing down trees and brush to create afirebreak, instead of using bulldozers, he said.
This is a culturally sensitive area and were not going to mess itup, Kindred said.
The Puako fire forced an evacuation of 400 people on Sunday. A total of ninefires started Sunday, which officials suspect to be arson. The fires have burnedmore than 2,000 acres.
