Brush fire burns 2 homes on Maui

Damage to two houses in Maalaea, Maui, by a wind-swept brush fire Sunday was estimated at $600,000, according to a news release from Maui County.

Two motorcycles and another vehicle were among the personal items damaged by the fire, the release said.

About a dozen firefighters spent yesterday putting out hot spots including smoldering kiawe wood fanned by 40 mph gusts.

The fire started about 2 p.m. Sunday on the mauka side of Honoapiilani Highway and spread quickly because of strong wind with gusts to 45 mph, the county said. The fire jumped the highway reaching homes on Maalaea Road, destroying one and damaging another, the county said.

Residents of three homes safely evacuated while no one was at home at two other homes in the neighborhood, according to a release.

The fire burned 80 acres of brush and forced the closure of the highway to Lahaina from 2:30 to 9:45 p.m. No one was injured.

Man accused of abusing girlfriend

Police arrested a 34-year-old Wahiawa man early yesterday for allegedly pinning his girlfriend down on a bed and covering her face.

The 32-year-old woman told police she could not breathe and felt pain, police said. The man let the woman go, and she reported the incident at a nearby military base, police said.

Police arrested the man on suspicion of felony abuse of a household member at 3:15 a.m. at their home on Wilikina Drive.

Northwestern Islands fishing stopped

A Honolulu-based fishing vessel was allegedly bottom fishing illegally in protected waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Law enforcement personnel with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Coast Guard stopped the boat and forced it to return to port Saturday, according to the Coast Guard.

The crew of a C-130 search plane from Barbers Point Air Station photographed and videotaped the boat crew allegedly hauling up lines within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument on June 15.

The plane flew out of sight of the boat crew and returned later, discovering the crew had resumed fishing, the Coast Guard said.

NOAA's law enforcement coordinated with the air crew to immediately stop the fishing and directed the boat back to Honolulu.

The boat traveled five days and arrived in Honolulu Saturday morning, the Coast Guard said.

The monument includes all waters within 50 miles of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, including its reefs and atolls.

The Coast Guard routinely conducts patrols and enforcement of the area..