Fire destroys sugar cane fields in Kunia
By Kristen Consillio
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KUNIA, Hawaii (KITV) — Cecile Piedad and her husband were working in the fields of Kunia when fire broke out near their home at Kunia Camp.
“We were so scared,” Piedad said. “And then I was thinking about what happened at Lahaina that time.”
Fortunately, the dozens of homes in the camp were spared.
But her boss at Ko Hana Distillers wasn’t so lucky.
It took Robert Dawson more than a decade to cultivate 15 acres of sugarcane in Kunia and in one day it’s all gone.
“It got wiped out, the fire took out all 15 acres,” said Robert Dawson, co-founder of Ko Hana Distillers. “And what’s extra sad for us is this is our heirloom collection. We only grow native Hawaiian cane, heirloom species brought by the Hawaiians thousands of years ago.”
And the losses are significant.
“It’s thousands of cases of rum that we will not be able to produce from this field,” Dawson said.
Honolulu police are searching for a male suspect they believe started at least one of six fires over the past week in Kunia.
“Both day and night watches in district 2—that’s Wahiawa—have been patrolling the area regularly as well as the community policing team,” said HPD acting assistant chief Randall Platt.
“It’s scary if you think about it. Luckily, the fire trucks came in, the helicopters came in, the military came in,” Dawson said. “There was fires right there on the other side of this farm. I mean, this is a rum distillery. There’s a fertilizer company across the street. And I mean, if that fire were able to get to us, it would be catastrophic.”
Firefighters were still on scene Wednesday battling smoldering hot spots near farms and homes in the rural community.
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