Police launch arson probe after several suspicious brush fires in Ocean View

Several suspicious brush fires ignited March 3 in Ocean View led Hawai‘i Island police to set off an arson investigation.

Hawai‘i Fire Department at 1:15 p.m. Monday received a report about a brush fire in the area of King Kamehameha Boulevard between Lūʻau Drive and Coral Parkway. Fire crews learned after arriving at the scene that three smaller fires were already previously extinguished by passersby.

The Fire Department got a report just less than 2 hours later at 3 p.m. about another brush fire in the same general area as the earlier fires. This brush fire was also quickly brought under control and extinguished by responding fire crews.

No injuries were reported and no property losses were sustained because of any of the blazes.

Hawai‘i Police Department investigators learned during the course of their investigation into the brush fires that a dark-skinned man wearing brown shorts and no shirt was seen in the area where the brush fires started. He was seen getting into a white sedan that abruptly left the area and was last seen heading east on Lūʻau Drive.

The identity of the man as well as the make and model of the sedan are unknown.

It is also unknow if these brush fires are directly related to a Feb. 21 residential blaze that destroyed a home on Paradise Parkway and burned brush on adjacent properties.

The March 3 brush fires took place only a mile north of the February structure fire.

Police discovered while investigating the residential blaze that the homeowner reported seeing a dark-skinned man on her property shortly before the fire began. It is unknown if that man is the same man seen in the area of the March 3 brush fires.

All of these fires are being actively investigated by the Hawai‘i Police Department Area II Criminal Investigation Section and Hawai‘i Fire Department investigators.

Anyone with information about these fires or who might have witnessed suspicious activity that could be related to the fires is encouraged to contact Detective Donovan Kohara at 808-960-3118 or via email at donovan.kohara@hawaiicounty.gov.

They can also call the department’s non-emergency number at 808-935-3311.