UPDATE 2: Big Island police report Daniel K. Inouye Highway once again open to all traffic

Update at 9:14 p.m. Aug. 13, 2026: Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense reports that Big Island police are notifying the public that a portion of Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also known as Saddle Road, previously closed is once again open to all traffic.

The roadway, between the Old Saddle Road and Highway 190 junctions, was closed while fire crews worked to extinguish a wildland fire that ignited the afternoon of Aug. 11 near the 46-mile marker in South Kohala.

Update at 6:59 p.m. Aug. 12, 2026: Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense reported the evening of Aug. 12 that Hawaiʻi Fire Department advises the public that Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also known as Saddle Road, will remain closed through Wednesday night and Aug. 13, between the Old Saddle Road junction and Highway 190 junction, as fire crews continue to battle the wildland fire that began Aug. 11.

Story originally posted at 7:41 a.m. Aug. 12, 2026: A wildland fire that ignited off Daniel K. Inouye Highway in South Kohala near mile marker 46 on Tuesday afternoon has burned 230 acres and is 60% contained as of Wednesday.

The highway remains closed from the Old Saddle Road Junction to Highway 190 Junction as fire crews continue to fight the fire. Motorists are advised to detour through Old Saddle Road or Highway 19 through Hāmākua.

Images from an AlertWest camera, installed by Hawaiian Electric to monitor fire conditions, showed smoke Tuesday night from the fire. As of Wednesday morning, the area appears to have cleared.

Fire crews from Hawaiʻi County, state Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Pōhakuloa Training Area and air support from the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard battled the blaze through the night and continue their efforts Wednesday morning to stamp out the flames.

More information will be provided as it becomes available.