HONOLULU (KHON2) — The man accused of intentionally setting a brush fire in Kunia could face up to 10 years in prison.
The Honolulu Prosecutors’ Office said 70-year-old Antonio Vierra is charged with second-degree arson, which is a class B felony, and they said they intend to seek the maximum penalty.
On Friday, the Honolulu Fire Department said there were nine fires in Kunia over a 12-day period between Aug. 11 and Aug. 23.
“We can’t assume they’re all related even though they are in the same area, and in the same period of time,” explained HFD Captain Jaime Kinard Song.
She said investigations revealed two of the fires were intentionally started. One of the fires was on Aug. 19, which led to the evacuation of Kunia Camp, and the fire on Saturday, Aug. 23, which came within 900 feet of homes.
Vierra is only accused and has only been charged with starting Saturday’s fire.
Multiple agencies were involved in battling the fires and also the investigation, including the ATF, National Guard, and the Department of Forestry and Wildlife.
“We dispatched our accelerant detection canine, Eve, and she was instrumental in being able to alert and search an area where there was ignitable liquids present,” explained Capt. Song. “Then of course Dori Booth, our Fire Marshal, played a pivotal role in getting us surveillance footage, which we turned over to HPD as far as the arson investigation.”
Booth said it was a GIS specialist with the Army who first noticed suspicious activity on wildfire cameras.
“We were able to identify this vehicle that has been at several other incidents over the last two weeks,” Booth explained.
“When we start seeing trends in a tight geographical area it really starts setting off flags,” she continued. “With wildland fires, it’s incredibly hard to identify suspects and cause and origin simply because they’re remote and away from everything, and that’s where these ALERTwest cameras and fire monitoring really help with pinpointing some locations, which turns into the investigation.”
Prosecutors say they viewed Vierra as dangerous and wanted to get him off the streets.
“Starting fires over in such a dry area can be extremely dangerous and put a lot of people at risk,” explained Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mark Yuen. “So, we’re very serious about taking these cases seriously, this one in particular, based on proximity to homes.”
Vierra was released after posting bail. He’s expected in court next week.