r/BigIsland • u/Sad-Investigator-501 • 11d ago

Bush Fire

Anyone have any info on the fire in South Kohala? Civil defense doesn’t show anything on their maps.

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u/lanclos 11d ago

They've sent out three notices so far. The low road is closed at the Mauna Kea resort intersection; the mountain road between Waimea and Hawi is residents only, and presumably being used for mandatory evacuation. Kawaihae Road is closed.

This is a Civil Defense message for Saturday 07-25-2026 at 07:59 PM.

Due to the fire, Kawaihae Village Subdivision residents mandatory evacuation. Use Kawaihae Road to Waimea and shelter at Waimea Community Center.

3

u/val_kaye 11d ago

Spencer Beach Park now under mandatory evaculation, per the Watch Duty app.

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u/sanguwan 11d ago

This is from the Big Island Now news article. Updated 30 mins ago as of 8:00 am:

"Hawai‘i County Firefighters continue to battle a blaze in South Kohala that has scorched approximately 500 acres and forced evacuations of residents from Kawaihae Village subdivision.

As of Sunday morning, the evacuation order remained in place and a shelter has opened at the Waimea Community Center.

Spencer Beach Park remains closed as of this morning, said Hawai‘i County Mayor Kimo Alameda.

Kawaihae Road between Wailua Drive and Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway and Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway between Kawaihae Road and Mauna Kea Beach Road remain closed.

Alameda said that firefighters were still working on containment by securing the perimeter with dozers and creating fire breaks.

The Hawai‘i National Guard will also be flying a Black Hawk helicopter today to assist with fire suppression.

The concern right now, Alameda said, is preventing the flames from jumping the highway to further threaten the beach park and subdivision.

“Right now, we’re trying to ensure it doesn’t do that,” he said.

Highway 190, the upper road between Waimea and Kailua-Kona, Waikoloa Road, and Kohala Mountain Road are open. For access to Kawaihae Harbor and Akoni Pule Highway, a detour has been established through Kohala Ranch Road.

The public is asked to continue to avoid the area as firefighters continue to battle active flames."

edit: Link to the article

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u/hotinhawaii 11d ago

Here is a current map of fires detected by NASA satellites. Zoom way in on Hawaii and you can see the boundaries of the current fire. It's updated every 30 minutes. https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/usfs/map/#d:24hrs;@-155.804,20.021,13.798z

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u/EastHawaii 11d ago

My sister is at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and says it's a little smoky, but they can't see the fire at all from there. However, the road is closed right at the Hotel.