‘Do you want another Lahaina again?’: Kapolei fire reignites west side safety concerns

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Following a wildfire in Kapolei on the night of July 24, the Honolulu Fire Department has been sent back to the area the next morning to combat the flames’ reignition.

According to HFD, a fire was reported at around 8:15 p.m. in the area surrounding Kapolei Commons. Officials said that the fire was fully contained, with the incident being considered closed shortly after 5 a.m.

The initial blaze did not threaten any structures and did not injure anyone.

However, shortly before 9:45 a.m. on July 25, firefighters responded to the same area, where there had been an apparent flare-up of last night’s fire.

HFD has since been able to put water on the reignited fire, but there is no word yet on the status of this second fire episode.

Kapolei’s wildfires are just the latest in a string of wildfire activity on Oʻahu’s west side in July, including a deadly fire that sprawled through Māʻili at the beginning of the month.

The Māʻili fire was classified as “undetermined,” as the HFD’s fire investigator could not find an exact cause, whether it be manmade or natural.

For local residents like Tracy Perez, who splits her time between Kona and Kapolei, the fire serves as a grim reminder of the West Side’s vulnerability to fires.

“Everybody knows there’s no water [on the west side]. I’m a local, I’m a native, everybody knows the water is where the hotels are,” she said.

The lack of water paired with the lack of road variety is also a concern, Perez said.

“With no water, and it’s so dry, it’s just fire,” she said. “There’s not even roads for local people to get out.”

Perez echoed recent calls to open more access roads to the area, such as the Nanakuli emergency road that was closed during the Māʻili fire earlier this month.

“There needs to be another way in, and another way out,” Perez said. “Do you want another Lahaina again? That’s crazy.”