The Largest Fire In HI County History - Mana Road Fire Update, Aug 2, 2021

After a stressful evacuation of Waikoloa Village yesterday as the Mana Road brush fire jumped Highway 190 and began working towards the community of 6,500 people, today is looking much better. The evacuation order for Waikoloa Village was lifted at 7:00pm last night and many residents returned home for the night. According to the Hawaii Police Department, only two people stayed in the emergency shelter last night. Current hot-spots include areas of Waikii Ranch and Puukapu, the latter having a flare-up earlier today. The threat to these areas has diminished, but has not been eliminated. While the evacuation orders have been lifted for both area, the fire is not contained at this time. That said, there are no more homes in danger from the brush fire! The evacuation order was lifted for Waikii Ranch, however residents cannot return home due to the road closure which remain in place as hot-spots are dealt with. Some of the service water-lines in the impacted area have been compromised, making the hauling of water in necessary. Winds are expected to ease slightly on Tuesday, but will remain breezy through the rest of the week. Area Burnt Sets Records: The estimates yesterday of the burned area turned out to be overestimated due to poor conditions, the acreage burnt has now been reduced to 40,000 acres. The size of the Mana Road Fire makes it the largest fire in Hawaii County's history, as well as larger than the acreage burnt annually on the island. The totals from 2018 and 2019 fire seasons were 30,593 acres in 2018, and 32,124 acres in 2019, which were some of the highest seasonal totals on record. Air Quality: The air quality has generally improved today. The fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air has decreased from the air quality we saw yesterday. 24 hours ago the air quality of Kiholo Bay, down to Milolii, including all of Kailua-Kona, was in the 101-150 range on the 10-min Average PM2.5 AQI, today that range has been reduced to the 51-100, according the PurpleAir monitors. The range of 51-100 PM2.5 AQI is described as, "Air quality is acceptable; however, if they are exposed for 24 hours there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution." Traffic Update: CLOSED - Highway 190 from Lalamilio road in Waimea to the junction with Daniel K. Inouye Hwy (New Saddle Road) CLOSED - Waikoloa Road above Waikoloa, from Paniolo Drive to Highway 190 CLOSED - Old Saddle Road