Video courtesy Lynn Beittel/Visionary Video. Audio from Hawaii County Civil Defense message.
(BIVN) – Evacuation orders for the southern portion of Kohala Ranch, as well as for the Villas and South Fairways at Mauna Kea, have been lifted.
The County of Hawaiʻi announced early Wednesday evening that there are no longer any closures of major highways on Hawaiʻi Island as a result of the South Kohala brushfires. Akoni Pule Highway, Highway 270 in Kohala, and Mauna Kea Beach Drive have all been reopened.
There are no active evacuations at this time.
Access to and from the Mauna Kea Beach resort area is now allowed, and guests at the resort are no longer required to shelter in place.
The two brushfires that started up in Kaʻū on Wednesday – in Nāʻālehu and Pāhala – have been neutralized, “thanks to the swift work of the Hawaiʻi Fire Department”, officials say.
Shelters at Hisaoka Park in Kapaʻau and Waimea Community Center will remain open through 8 pm this evening, August 9.
The Hawaiʻi Fire Department is still on scene and officials say that unnecessary travel through the affected areas is discouraged.
The Red Flag Warning for leeward and interior areas of Hawaiʻi island has ben extended until 6 a.m. Thursday morning. “Very dry fuels combined with strong and gusty easterly winds and low humidity will produce critical fire weather conditions through late this evening,” the National Weather Service says. “Conditions are expected to improve late tonight as humidity increases and winds decrease further.”
