Following news from Hawaii County of the Hawaii Fire Department neutralizing the brushfires in Kaʻū in Naalehu and Pahala, Hawaii Island police announced the launch of an arson investigation into the Kaʻū brushfire that’s been determined to have started under suspicious circumstances, according to police.

On the afternoon of Aug. 9, the Hawaii Fire Department received a report of several brushfires on Mill Camp Road in Pahala. They found two separate fires upon arrival, one on either side of Mill Camp Road. They were burning in the same area, but how the fires started appeared to be different, according to a news release.

Detectives determined that an unattended cooking fire started one of the fires.

The second fire may have been intentionally set as investigators found an incendiary device on the roadway where they believe the fire started.

Both fires were extinguished by fire personnel.

The investigation found that just after the fires began, a male operating a green All-Terrain Vehicle was seen leaving the area of Mill Camp Road. His identity is currently unknown.

According to police, the fires in Pahala are not related to the fires in the North and South Kohala Districts. The cause of those fires is undetermined.

Police ask anyone with information on the Mill Camp Road wildfires to contact Detective Donovan Kohara at 808-960-3118 or via email at donovan.kohara@hawaiicounty.gov. People can also call the department’s non-emergency number at 808-935-3311.

Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.