ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cars waited on Honoapiilani Highway on Friday while a wildfire burned on the east side of the West Maui Mountains.
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Winds thwart Maui fire efforts
About 75 county and state firefighters are battling the 3,500-acre blaze
Gusty winds continued to fan the flames of a brush fire that has consumed more than 3,500 acres of West Maui mountains since early Friday.
Thirty-five firefighters continued to work through the night yesterday.
"We've got the bottom section nearest the (Honoapiilani) highway taken care of," Maui Fire Capt. Jeff Murray said last night. But the fire still had multiple "heads" and was burning unpredictably because of the winds, he said.
About 75 Maui County and state forestry firefighters battled the blaze through the day, assisted by four civilian and three military helicopters making water drops until about 6 p.m., Murray said.
Most of the mountainous region is accessible only by helicopter, complicating firefighting efforts.
There were no reports of injuries, though on Friday night a number of Maalaea homes and businesses were evacuated, the Honoapiilani Highway was closed until 8 p.m. and several emergency shelters were opened.
All businesses and the highway were open yesterday and the shelters had been closed.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A bulldozer worked Friday near Maalaea Harbor on Maui to try to stop a brush fire that was reported early Friday morning.
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Though the fire wasn't contained, "we are trying to downsize for the evening," Murray said at 7:30 p.m. yesterday. "It's somewhat out of reach in most areas."
The number of firefighters was to be reassessed this morning, he said.
Despite the fire's seriousness, "it looked like a lava flow," Murray said. Spectators gathered to the orange flames licking at the dark mountain.
The fire was reported at 12:30 a.m. Friday north of Maalaea near Honoapiilani Highway and McGregor Point. Firefighters managed yesterday to protect power lines and the newly constructed Kaheawa Wind Power farm.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Maui Ocean Center and Maalaea restaurants, including Buzz's Wharf, on Friday. Businesses were operating today.
The War Memorial complex in Wailuku and Lahaina Civic Center gymnasium were open Friday for people stranded by the fire but were closed yesterday.
John Cumming, Maui district manager for the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife, said about 13 forestry workers and four division engines assisted the county. He said the division had "considerable concerns" Friday night because of an endangered native Hawaiian plant enclosure and nene release pens on the slopes above the wind farm.
An aerial reconnaissance flight yesterday morning confirmed that the plants and Hawaiian geese weren't impacted, he said.
Cumming said he didn't do the reconnaissance himself but was told the fire went up to a little more than 2,400 feet in elevation, to the lower reaches of the wind farm. Maui County Fire Chief Carl Kaupalolo said it's too early to speculate on what caused the fire.
"At this point in time it's kind of premature. We want to really concentrate our efforts on getting the work that we need to out here, develop some kind of containment of this fire," Kaupalolo said.
"Eventually we will be able to look at that and, if need be, begin an investigation."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.