Structure Fire Closes Highway 11 in Kealakekua; No Injuries Reported

A single family home suffered $175,000 in damages in a fire on Friday afternoon, Jan. 21, that closed Highway 11 at the 111 mile marker near the KTA Express in Kealakekua for several hours.

Fire crews are on scene by 3 p.m., but where they found a fully engulfed one-story residence on the 81-000 block of Māmalahoa Highway. Nobody had to be evacuated or rescue, and no injuries were reported, the department stated. Two neighboring structures were threatened but largely undamaged by the fire, which was extinguished by 3:35 p.m.

One witness, Harlan Miyoshi, who captured pictures and a video of the blaze, said that fire crews put the blaze out quickly.

“It started with some smoke, then escalated quickly into a full fledged fire but fire crews responded quickly and put it out immediately, it was a wall of fire beyond the trees and we could feel the heat from where we are,” she told Big Island Now.