In Waikiki with two alarms, surfboards next to a historic hotel were destroyed

WAIKIKI (HawaiiNewsNow) – A large fire in Waikiki on Sunday raised thick black smoke that was visible throughout the Greater Honolulu area.

Firefighters were called to the surf racks between the historic Moana Surfrider Hotel and the Waikiki Police Substation on Kalakaua Avenue just before 11:15 a.m.

“It was definitely a scary sight, everyone ran away and kind of freaked out,” said Chad Williams, a beach attendant at Dive Oahu.

“It was a mess man … I don’t think anyone knew what was going on – especially tourists who have never been here and maybe thought a hotel was on fire.”

Police cordoned off part of Kalakaua Avenue and pushed beachgoers from the scene while hundreds watched.

“We were walking along the ocean there when we saw masses of black smoke. Everywhere and as we got closer we can see a lot of flames, ”said David Thomas, a visitor from England who videotaped the fire on his cell phone.

“It stopped all the action on the beach. Everyone started to watch because black smoke was going into the sea everywhere. “

The HFD said the flames damaged both the exterior of the HPD substation and the hotel. It was completely extinguished shortly after noon.

The massive cloud of black smoke terrified hotel guests and residents of Waikiki nearby.

“We were having breakfast and suddenly we heard sirens. And we looked at the sky and everything was black and we could see a lot of smoke, ”said Rafael Fermi, an Ewa Beach resident who stayed with his family at the Moana Surfrider Hotel.

The fire broke out in the same area that was set on fire in February 2020 and resulted in arson. More than 500 surfboards were burned in the fire in February 2020.

Steve Dulce lost boards in both fires.

“Gone! Up in ashes! You see, they were all on the shelves like the first time,” he said.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how I feel – especially since I installed a new board there.”

[Read a previous report from Aug. 2020: Honolulu to reopen surfboard locker racks destroyed in fire]

There were no reports of injuries in the fire on Sunday.

Further details are in development. This story will be updated.

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