A 2,000-acre fire on the island of Kauai is about 50 percent contained today, but dry conditions and high winds are challenging containment efforts. Koke’e residents are under a voluntary evacuation because of a power outage, and the Waimea Canyon drive was closed.
KHON2 News reported that the fire started early Friday on the northwest portion of Kauai, which is the northernmost and almost westernmost of the Hawaiian islands. Firefighters from at least four agencies are working the fire, which is burning near the island’s Kekaha game management area.
“Most of it is a very steep terrain and we can’t put hand crews on it; we have to let it run up to a defensible space like a roadway,” said Robert Westerman with the Kauai Fire Department. Three helicopters, including one from the U.S. Navy, are dropping water on the fire.
The Garden Island reported today that firefighters made good progress along the Poki‘i, Paua, and Waiaka ridges.
