Honaunau Information Update for June 17th, 2019

Honaunau Home destroyed in a fire Sunday evening (June 16th)

The Hawaii Fire Department (HFD) along with the Hawaii Police Department (HPD) responded a structure fire on Bruner Road in Honaunau Sunday evening (June 16th).

The initial call came in at 5:23 pm Sunday evening and crews from the Captain Cook, Kailua, and Keauhou Fire Stations along with Battalion 2 and Volunteers from the Ocean View, Kona Paradise, and Kalaoa Stations responded to the scene located at the 84-1200 block of Bruner Road located near Filipino Clubhouse Road in Honaunau.

Upon the arrival of HFD Crews, occupant of the structure report accidentally knocking over a latern on the lanai (porch) of the residence and ignited the lanai and surrounding heavy brush and spreading to the residences. Occupant advised that their were oxygen tanks in the garage next the residences, which later ignited and caused an explosion, which was heard from over miles away from the scene of the fire. Smoke visible from as far as Captain Cook and Kealakekua area.

Due to the narrow roadway, HFD crews had to utilize 4x4 brush truck and small utility vehicles to access the scene on Bruner Road. Once on scene, they found a single story residences fully engulfed in flames and HFD crews immediately began firefighting efforts to gain control of the fire and prevent further spread. They also determined the occupant of the structure had safely evacuated the structure prior to crews arriving on scene.

Due to the limit water supply at the scene, HFD crews also had to haul water from a supply point at the bottom of Bruner Road to the scene utilizing the brush truck units.

HPD has restricted traffic on Bruner Road to emergency vehicles only.

Fire was declared extinguished just after 12:15 am Monday morning (June 17th). No injuries have been reported. Fire remains under investigation.