Fire Near Waimea Jumps Highway 190, Evacuations Ordered In Waikoloa Village

11:43 PM · Aug 1, 2021

EDIT 1 (2:12pm): Hawaii Police Department recommends anyone still in Waikoloa use Hulu st for evacuation. EDIT 2 (2:39pm): Nobody is currently permitted to drive to Waikoloa Village, if anyone is known to still be inside the village they should proceed to evacuate via Hulu St. EDIT 3 (3:43pm): Kohala Cares (501c(3)) is accepting donations to help feed evacuees. Donations can be sent to: AlohaPeter@Yahoo.com on Venmo or PayPal HPD continues door-to-door checks at this time. Mandatory evacuations in the Waikoloa Village have been ordered as the brush fire now exceeds 40,000 acres and continues to expand, jumping Highway 190 in multiple locations. High winds have created significant difficulty for first responders in containing the blaze. Officials is going house-to-house in the Waikoloa Village to inform people of the evacuation. Traffic has now backed up for several miles streaming the Waikoloa Village road to the highway, authorizes are working to clear the traffic. There are over 140 personnel battling the fire today, and more have been the National Guard. Bulldozers have unsuccessfully been attempting to establish firebreaks as the wind continues drive the fire in multiple directions. A wind advisory remains in effect from the National Weather Service until 6pm this evening as a strong pressure system to the North Northeast is providing strong trade winds, which is not expected to change in the coming days. The NWS also reports that radar shows little in the way of moisture that might help fire crews contain the fire. The old Kona Airport is being setup as an evacuation shelter for anyone that needs it. (75-5560 Kuakini Hwy, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740)