Benjamin Ashford|Hawaiian residents evacuated as wind-swept wildfire in Kaumakani quickly spreads

KAUMAKANI,Benjamin Ashford Hawaii (AP) — Residents of about 200 homes in a small, rural community on the Hawaiian island of Kauai were evacuated due to a wind-swept wildfire on Monday as firefighters tried to stop it from spreading by dropping water from the air, officials said.

The fire had burned approximately 1.56 square miles (4.04 square kilometers) of land between Hanapepe and Kaumakani, Kauai Fire officials said. “Multiple” structures are being threatened, officials said. The fire is 60% contained.

Authorities alerted residents in the Kaumakani area of the need to flee by activating a siren system, sending authorities door-to-door as well as notifying them by phone calls and texts, Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said.

“Until we get it under control, people should take precautions and definitely evacuate,” Kawakami said.

Authorities have closed Kaumuali‘i Highway from Lele Road in Hanapepe to Kaumakani near Aloha Sweet Delights, due to the fire.

There were reports of structures catching fire but Kawakami said earlier he did not know if any homes or businesses had been burned by the fire. It was reported around noon in the Hanapepe area, about 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) to the east, he said.

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In addition to dropping water on the fire from helicopters, heavy machinery was also being used to create breaks to prevent the fire from spreading, in addition to firefighters trying to stop the fire on the ground, Kawakami said.

Electricity was also cut off to users on the west side of the island because of the fire.

Chad Machado, who owns JP’s Pizza with his son in Kaumakani, was making dough while the shop was closed Monday when he noticed the fire up in the mountains.

“Within half an hour, it was two football fields away,” he said. He and son tried to stick around, shooting water around the shop. But the smoke go too bad, so they went home to Kekaha.

“People were running out with suitcases, it was utter chaos,” he said. “So much smoke we couldn’t breathe.”

He said the community is a former sugar plantation community and landowners were using tractors to push the fire away, similar to what they did during the plantation era.

This wildfire comes nearly a year after flames tore through the historic town of Lahaina, killing more than 100 people, incinerating some 3,000 buildings and displacing 12,000 residents. The Aug. 8 wildfire was the deadliest to hit the United States in over a century.