Macadamia Nut Plant Fire Causes $105,000 in Damages

A fire at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation processing plant in Hilo in the early morning hours of Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, caused $105,000 in damages to a 20-by-30-foot structure on the property.

Kea‘au firefighters arrived on the scene at 2:53 a.m. to find the structure fully engulfed in flames.

The smoke and flames were visible from Highway 11 and Macadamia Nut Drive.

A security guard at the scene said the structure was a mac nut husk dryer.

The fire was brought under control at 3:13 a.m.

The wet-down and mop-up followup procedure was prolonged due to limited access and an abundance of macadamia nut mulch.

Hawai‘i Fire Department inspectors on scene were investigating the cause of the fire at the time of this press release.