Chinese restaurant destroyed by arson
Honolulu firefighters determined a fire that destroyed On Dong Chinese Restaurant in Pawaa on Thursday afternoon was intentionally set.
Fire spokesman Kendall Ching said the fire caused more than $400,000 in damage, and firefighters referred the case to police.
Ching said about 35 firefighters in seven companies responded to the two-alarm fire at 12:04 p.m. and extinguished the blaze by 12:17 p.m. No one was inside the business when the fire started, and no one was hurt.
Firefighters remained on scene for more than an hour checking for damage in neighboring businesses.
Ching said the fire began in a two-story concrete building at 1497 S. King St. and caused smoke damage to a Korean restaurant and a bakery, also on the ground floor.
Man dies after paragliding accident
Police said a paraglider who crashed at Kaena Point on Thursday afternoon died after he was taken to a hospital.
The flier, a man who was 30 years old, fell about 50 feet, Emergency Medical Services said. He was conscious when bystanders got to him, but CPR was performed after he became unresponsive, according to witnesses.
EMS said the man was transported in critical condition to a hospital.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Kauai police seek fugitive
Kauai inmate Orlando Manguchei failed to return from a work furlough Wednesday and is being sought by police.
Manguchei, 43, was living in a transitional home in Kapaa. He was serving time for terroristic threatening, third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and a parole violation. He was to be released in August.
He is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes.
Keaau fire under investigation
Hawaii County firefighters cut through a chain-link fence to combat a house fire Wednesday in Keaau.
The fire at a home in the Keaau agriculture lots subdivision was reported at 8:53 p.m. and extinguished in less than 15 minutes. Damage, which was confined to the patio, was estimated at $30,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Parks waive entrance fees
The National Park Service will waive the entrance fee to Haleakala National Park on Monday to commemorate Martin Luther King Day.
In addition, entrance fees will be waived on eight other days in 2015: Feb. 14 to 16 (Presidents’ Day weekend), April 18 and 19 (opening of National Park week), Aug. 25 (the National Park Service’s 99th birthday), Sept. 26 (National Public Lands Day) and Nov. 11 (Veterans Day).
Special passes provide free admission for active-duty military and for people with permanent disabilities. More information can be found at nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm.
Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai is also waiving entry fees Saturday, but will be closed Monday.
