Fire Destroys House in Sprawling Ka`u Subdivision

Fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a house in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates this morning.

Firefighters arriving at the scene on Paradise Parkway at 10:02 a.m. found the 800-square-foot home engulfed in flames, with only the front wall still standing.

The owner was standing by the side of the road.

The house was at the end of a steep driveway with “several small makeshift structures” surrounding it, a fire department spokesman said.

Because there were no nearby fire hydrants, it took firefighters more than an hour to get the fire under control and more than three hours to extinguish all the flames.

Damage was estimated at $120,000.