Fire probed as arson after surfboard racks torched again
By ‘A’ali’i Dukelow
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WAIKIKI, Hawaii (KITV) — A thick cloud of black smoke billowed over Waikiki Sunday morning after a fire erupted at the surfboard racks between the Honolulu Police Substation and the Moana Surfrider hotel — for the second time in less than two years.
In February 2020, an arson fire torched the storage lockers, destroying 525 surfboards.
The Honolulu Police Department is also investigating Sunday’s blaze as arson, and like the previous fire, much of the racks and surfboards have been charred.
Witnesses recalled seeing the smoke for miles, some described the dark cloud as deceiving.
“Like a big old black mushroom smoke cloud,” a man by the name of “Bobby” said. “I couldn’t believe it was just that that caught on fire, I thought a building was on fire.”
The flames brought flashbacks for Ted Miller, who has been storing his boards at the lockers for 10 years.
“The last fire I actually had my board out of the locker on that day,” Miller remembered.
While Miller was lucky the last time, Sunday’s fire burnt his favorite board to ash.
“It (the board) was about 15 years old and still in perfect condition and very hard to find or replace,” Miller said.
According to HPD, no arrests have been made and the exact cause of the fire is still being determined.
No injuries were reported.
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