Hawaii isle blaze destroys 2-story building
Hawaii County fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fire in Captain Cook that destroyed a two-story wooden garage, office and storage area early Sunday morning.
Firefighters arriving after the 3:13 a.m. alarm found the structure engulfed and neighbors attempting to hold back the blaze with garden hoses, a Fire Department news release said.
The unit, with a garage, kitchen, living room, office and storage space, was not attached to the main house and had collapsed before firefighters arrived. All occupants of the home made it out safely, and no injuries were reported.
The fire was under control at about 4 a.m. and extinguished at 7:30 a.m., officials said.
Damage was estimated at $110,000.
Firefighters said the fire could have been worse. They estimated it would have caused an additional $250,000 damage if it had spread.
The American Red Cross responded to the scene to assist the residents with food and shelter.
House fire in Hana blamed on candle
An unattended burning candle in a religious shrine caused a fire in a house near Hana on Sunday morning, Maui County fire officials said.
Firefighters were called to a 1,000-square-foot home near mile marker 28 in Nahiku on the Hana Highway at 9:11 a.m. and found smoke billowing from the eaves, a Fire Department spokesman said.
Roughly 15 percent of the building burned, and officials estimated damage at about $5,000.
The couple that lives in the house was not home when the blaze started. The Red Cross is assisting them because they have nowhere else to stay.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze just before 9:30 a.m.
Swimmer assisted after a gulp of ocean
Ocean Safety crews helped a swimmer in distress at Waimea Bay at about 5:15 p.m. Sunday.
Lifeguards responded after the 14-year-old girl swallowed water and needed help getting out of the water.
The girl was conscious and breathing but was transported by paramedics to a nearby hospital as a precaution.
Surf at Waimea was in the 1- to 2-foot range.
Kauai crash involves 2 cars and a truck
A three-vehicle crash near the Hanapepe lookout Sunday afternoon sent one person to the hospital with minor injuries and closed Kaumualii Highway for nearly an hour, Kauai County officials said.
According to police, the driver of an eastbound sedan was attempting to make a left turn into the lookout when the sedan was rear-ended by the driver of another sedan and pushed into westbound traffic, where it collided with a pickup truck.
Four people were involved in the 2:20 p.m. crash, including one person in the truck, one person in one of the sedans and two people in the second sedan. Both directions of traffic were detoured onto Halewili Road.
