SA: ‘State senator films Maili brush fire, police standoff while riding bus’

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State senator films Maili brush fire, police standoff while riding bus
By Star-Advertiser staff March 6, 2019 Updated March 7, 2019 12:40am

A possible arson suspect was taken into police custody in connection with a brush fire that burned 20 acres in Maili this afternoon.

The man was arrested not only on suspicion of arson but a number of different charges, an officer at the Waianae police substation said tonight.

No other details were available, he said.

The fire, which appeared to have blackened much of Puu O Hulu, the towering coastal hill that is home to the Maili pillboxes, started at 3:14 p.m and was contained at 5:09 p.m., said Honolulu Fire Capt. Scot Seguirant.

He said 12 units and 31 firefighters, including the Honolulu Fire Department’s A-1 helicopter, battled the blaze near Kaukama Road and Farrington Highway.

State Sen. Maile Shimabukuro happened to be riding TheBus home from the state Capitol and took photos of the large brush fire as the bus slowly moved through congested traffic.

Photo by Sen. Maile Shimabukuro 3/6/19

Later, the bus came upon a roadside confrontation on Farrington Highway near Leihoku Street. Shimabukuro continued taking video footage, which showed a police officer was pointing a gun at a man, who was holding an object by his side that looked like a 2-foot-long stick or cylinder, and yelling.

Some 25 feet away from the standoff was a smaller fire that appeared to have been recently started near the highway’s shoulder, she said.

Photo by Sen. Maile Shimabukuro 3/6/19

Officials did not confirm whether the confrontation caught on video by Shimabukuro was related to the fires.