Kawaihae Village, Spencer Beach Park evacuated because of South Kohala wildfire

Hawai‘i County Mayor Kimo Alameda reported from the county’s emergency operations center in a late night July 25 video update on social media that Kawaihae Village and Spencer Beach Park were evacuated because of a wildland fire that continued to burn in South Kohala.

“We got the Waimea Community Center open right now, so all the evacuees please know that we got staff there from the county and the [Community Emergency Response Team] willing to assist you and to accommodate you,” said Alameda in his 11:25 p.m. Saturday video update. “There’s food, there’s beds, blankets, so help yourself. More resources are on the way as well.”

More than 500 acres had burned by the time Alameda issued his third fire update.

The wildland fire — located on the south side of Kawaihae Road — was reported at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

It triggered a wildfire advisory issued by Hawai‘i Fire Department and caused the county just before 8 p.m. to order the mandatory evacuation of Kawaihae Village — which covered about 50 residences near the junction of Kawaihae Road and Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway.

All campers at Spencer Beach Park were subsequently evacuated as well.

“We’re also going to be fighting this fire probably all night,” Alameda said in a 9:25 p.m. Saturday video update on social media.

The mayor said in his later update that the county has “a lot of firefighters down there right now fighting it, police, Public Works, state Highways — there are over 70 county workers.”

Hawai‘i County Department of Public Works crews as of the 9:25 p.m. update were using water tanks to put water on the roadside to stop the blaze from jumping Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway and running through Kawaihae Village.

There also is some natural protection in place, including a stream flowing near Kawaihae Road that will protect what Alameda called “the hotel area.”

Hawai‘i National Guard on Saturday night informed the county that it will share a Black Hawk helicopter the morning of July 26 to help battle the blaze, which should make a significant impact to firefighting efforts.

“Just to give you an idea, the Black Hawk can drop around 600 gallons of water one time versus our 100 gallons with our chopper,” Alameda said. “So that’s a big, big help.”

The county reported just before 9 p.m. that the following roads remained closed:

• Kawaihae Road from Waiʻula Drive to Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway.
• Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway from Kawaihae Road to Mauna Kea Beach Drive.

Roads open for local traffic only were:

• Kohala Mountain Road.
• Waikōloa Road.
• ʻAkoni Pule Highway.

County officials urge the public to prioritize safety and avoid the hazardous area as emergency personnel continue to actively respond to the wildfire.

Motorists who encounter emergency responders or road crews are reminded to give them space to operate safely.

“So we’ll keep in touch. We’ll give you another update more [than] likely in the morning,” Alameda said in his 11:25 p.m. update. “So just be safe. Let’s stay connected, and aloha.”

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You can watch the mayor’s wildfire updates on Facebook and Instagram.