(BIVN) – A brush fire in the Mountain View area of Puna closed a subdivision road on Sunday.

The 20-acre blaze closed an area in the Fern Acres Subdivision from Plumeria Street to Lehua Street for several hours on the evening of April 27th.

A Hawai’i County Civil Defense message posted at 5:34 p.m. on Sunday night reported the fire was 70% contained. No residential structures were reported damaged.

Police reported Plumeria Street was open to motorists before 7 p.m. HST.

UPDATE – (April 29) – On Monday, the Hawaiʻi Fire Department provided this additional information:

HFD responded to a brush fire that was initially 3-5 acres in a rural residential area of Fern Acres. Initial fire attack was limited due to access problems and water supply. (Helicopter 1) was able to initiate water drops to control the fire. There were multiple houses threatened on Plumeria St as well as Lehua St creating 2 fire fronts. Fire fighting efforts continued until containment. Total fire area on Sunday evening measured to 20.4 acres. No homes caught fire, however a couple of storage sheds were lost. A night watch was established to monitor the fire. No flare ups were noted during the evening but there is still a lot of smoke present in the area. The area continues to be monitored today. The cause of the fire was determined to be a rubbish fire that spread into nearby brush. Please be aware that there may continue to be first responders and units in the area, so please drive the area slowly and with caution. 

As a reminder, there is a Department of Health burn ban for the island and very dry conditions exist. Rubbish and green waste fires without permit are restricted. Any type of allowed cooking fire should be conducted in a safe area with a large cleared perimeter and with a good water supply on hand to manage it.