‘Really worried someone might be trapped inside’: Police continue process of ID’ing body recovered from Wild Ginger fire

This story was updated at 10:19 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, to include new information released as part of a report issued the same day by Hawai‘i Fire Department about the deadly fire at the Wild Ginger Hotel in Hilo, including the fact that a second person who was missing was found uninjured later the same day as the fire.

Hawai‘i Fire Department first responders early Wednesday morning, Oct. 22, had an almost absurd assignment: snuff out hot heavy flames and surging smoke destroying a large 12,000-square-foot, 2-story commercial building that fire had already more than halfway claimed, with extensive burning and large collapsed areas elsewhere inside.

Their task only became more terrible as the morning wore on and they brought the blaze under control, with one person being found dead and another declared missing.

The first firefighters — of what would eventually become a total of 11 units and 26 Fire Department personnel from 4 different stations to respond — arrived at 2:08 a.m. Wednesday at Wild Ginger Hotel to find the fiery hellscape described and seen in the video above.

Hawai‘i Fire Department Chief Kazuo Todd said, in recent memory, the Wild Ginger was one of the largest structure fires to which his crews have responded.

One of Hilo’s oldest and historic hotels was being consumed in front of their eyes, so firefighters immediately got to work.

They were able to rein in the belligerent blaze by about 3:30 a.m., within less than 90 minutes after the first units arrived at the hotel, located at 100 Puʻuʻeo St. near the banks of Wailuku River and ocean shoreline in the Puʻuʻeo community on the north side of Hilo town.

Once the fire was under control, focus split so first responders could begin to search for anyone who might have been in the massive hotel at the time of the blaze and get them out.

Initial primary search efforts, however, were hindered by extent of the building’s collapse, active burning and other extensive damage.

They were not discouraged and continued their search and rescue efforts, working with their Hawai‘i Police Department partners and hotel staff to identify, located and evacuate hotel occupants and any unhoused people who were around the area at the time of the fire.

It was during their search when they discovered what every first responder fears the most.

Hawai‘i Police Department Capt. Rio Amon-Wilkins confirmed Wednesday that they recovered the body of a dead victim.

Hawai‘i Island authorities are in the process of identifying the body.

A search also was conducted for a second unaccounted person. Fire Department officials reported Thursday (Oct. 23) in their report about the Wild Ginger fire that Hawai‘i Police Department later located the person offsite and uninjured.

The 9-1-1 call reporting the hotel was ablaze came into dispatch at about 2 a.m. Wednesday. Todd said 8 rooms were occupied at the time.

Firefighters and investigators continued “combing” through debris Wednesday morning, completing operations and officially calling the fire out at 12:46 p.m. after nearly 12 hours and 40 minutes.

However, fire crews were called back at 4 p.m. that day to the now-charred remnants of the historic hotel after a report of visible smoke coming from within its ruins.

Firefighters located a still smoldering beam deep inside the burn area upon investigation, and the area was thoroughly overhauled.

Todd said the fire appears to have started in the rear of the hotel’s second story and quickly spread to the front. He estimated the second story was at least 3,000 to 4,000 square feet in size.

A portion of the Wild Ginger Hotel — built in 1911 — was closed because it was falling into a nearby gulch, fire officials said.

The structure and its contents, with an estimated value of just more than $1.4 million, were a total loss.

Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno said Clem Akina Park — located at 145 Wainaku St. and about a 1-minute, two-tenths of a mile walk from the Wild Ginger to the east — was opened as a shelter for those impacted by the fire.

When he left the park at 5:30 a.m. today, 7 people had shown up.

The county also requested assistance from American Red Cross and Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai‘i for displaced hotel guests .

“We heard a lot of yelling right as the fire started, but we didn’t want to get in the way of the first responders,” said Damon Molder of Hilo, who watched the fire from his lanai. “We were really worried someone might be trapped inside.”

He and his partner were concerned with the flames from the blaze so close that the fire would spread.

“My partner and I, and a few neighbors, were advised to come out to the driveway in case it took out one of the trees, which would have blocked our exit,” Molder said.

The fire was intense and also difficult to access on the back part of the lot, from what he could see.

Magno said traffic was light at the time of the fire, so Civil Defense didn’t put out a road closure alert until 5:30 a.m. Wednesday for Highway 19 in Wainaku when traffic started to pick up.

“We try not to put messages out when people are resting,” he said.

News reporter Nathan Christophel also contributed to this story.