Fire damages Maalaea restaurant | News, Sports, Jobs

Patrons of Oceanside Restaurant at the Maalaea Harbor Shops were seen fleeing a fire creating heat that could be felt by drivers in cars passing by on Honoapiilani Highway on Thursday evening.

“I could feel the heat even if I had my windows up and the air conditioning on,” said Doug Sugidono, who was headed home to Kahului from Lahaina at about 7:20 p.m.

Driving in sparse traffic on Honoapiilani Highway, he believed he saw the fire shortly after it started, before firefighters were on scene. Sugidono called 911.

“It was pretty intense,” he said of the flames. “I could see an outline of the piers, maybe the structure. . . .

“They (the flames) were as high as the building structure. I didn’t see any of the stucco anymore. I was shocked when I saw that.”

Jayson Kina of Kahului had just paid for his dinner at Beach Bums BBQ & Grill at the Maalaea Harbor Shops when he saw “some flames coming out of the backside” or the highway side of the Oceanside Restaurant.

“It seemed like they (the Oceanside) were kinda busy,” he said Thursday evening. “Everybody was kinda running out.”

There was a propane tank nearby, Kina said, noting that it was fortunate that it did not explode.

Firefighters came pretty quickly “and got it under control,” he said. He watched the happenings for a while until police had him move to the parking lot at Maalaea Small Boat Harbor.

Fire Services Chief Edward Taomoto said Thursday at about 9:15 p.m. that the fire was under control but not extinguished. Firefighters were searching for hidden fires in the attic.

Speaking from the scene, Taomoto said that there was “significant damage” to the exterior on the backside of the kitchen of the building, which faces toward Honoapiilani Highway. The fire burned a 40-foot area on the outside of the building and got into the attic but did not penetrate into the restaurant.

“Looked bigger than it really was,” Taomoto said, noting that he had seen video on social media of the fire.

It was too early to determine the cause and the full extent of the damage Thursday evening, he said. There were no reported injuries.

Firefighters got the call at about 7:15 p.m., were on scene 12 minutes later and had the fire under control at 7:53 p.m.

Five engine companies, 20 firefighters and one battalion chief battled the fire, Taomoto said.

Honoapiilani Highway was closed from about 7:45 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to police.

Oceanside Restaurant on the Lahaina side of the shopping complex opened in December, according to its website. It is a farm-to-table restaurant under the direction of Executive Chef Gary King.

* Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com. Chris Sugidono can be reached at csugidono@mauinews.com.

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