Laserfiche WebLink
J�iv os,H• <br /> Mitchell D.Roth '!�, Zendo Kern <br /> Mayor Director <br /> f: �f <br /> Lee E.LordJeffrey W.Darrow <br /> Managing Director •.�`.,.tip�f� � Deputy Director <br /> 0F•0 <br /> West Hawaii Office East Hawaii Office <br /> 74-5044 Ane keohokalole Hwy101 Pauahi Street,Suite 3 <br /> Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 County of Hawaii Hilo,Hawaii 96720 <br /> Phone(808)3234770 Phone(808)961-8288 <br /> Fax(808)327-3563 PLANNING DEPARTMENT Fax(808)961-8742 <br /> SOUTH KOHALA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN <br /> ACTION COMMITTEE <br /> September 13, 2021 <br /> Zendo Kern, Director <br /> County of Hawai'i Planning Department <br /> 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 <br /> Hilo, HI 96720 <br /> Dear Director Kern: <br /> SUBJECT: Request for Information on Mani Road Fire Emerzency Evacuations <br /> On behalf of South Kohala communities, we are requesting information on the emergency <br /> evacuations of Pu'ukapu Hawaiian Homesteads, Waiki'i Ranch, and Waikoloa Village in late <br /> July/early August 2021 due to the Mana Road fire. We have received general information but <br /> seek specific details and expertise from the County as outlined below. We ask that this request <br /> be forwarded to Mayor Roth and the following County departments: Civil Defense; Fire; Police; <br /> and the Department of Public Works. <br /> Background information: A fire in South Kohala started on the morning of July 30, 2021, <br /> reportedly due to human error on Parker Ranch properties. High, blustery winds quickly moved <br /> the wildfire primarily south and west, threatening Pu'ukapu Hawaiian Homesteads and Waiki'i <br /> Ranch homes forcing evacuations of these sparsely populated areas. By Sunday, August 1, 2021, <br /> the fire spread and crossed Hwy. 19 to the point that it endangered Waikoloa, a village with <br /> 6,500 residents. Mayor Roth promptly issued the first-ever evacuation order for Waikoloa <br /> Village at 12:15 P.M. In response, the intersection of Waikoloa Road and Paniolo Avenue was <br /> blocked off by Hawai'i County Police and traffic was directed out of the Village. <br /> Initially, people left via the one west bound lane of Waikoloa Road. Also, and for the first time, <br /> the fire emergency road off Hulu Street was opened to allow west bound traffic out of the <br /> Village to the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway.This emergency exit gravel road was built by the <br /> County in 2006, in large part, as a response to the fire that threatened Waikoloa Village in <br /> August 2005. Many current Villagers are unaware of its location or how drivable this single lane <br /> www.t)lanning.hawaiicounty.gov Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Emplover planning a,hawaucountv.eov <br />