Molokai officials called for the voluntary evacuation of about 25 homes Sunday as firefighters attacked a brush fire that had consumed about 6,000 acres and potentially threatened 100 homes in Kaunakakai Town.
Images: Molokai Brush Fire
A beefed-up fire department was doing everything it could to keep the stubborn flames away from people, homes and property.
The brush fire that started at noon Saturday headed toward Kaunakakai early Sunday morning.
The flames teased the Hotel Molokai and terrorized residents Saturday night.
"It was a little scary for me, I was at home by myself," Molokai resident Kanoe Davis said. "Stayed up all night waiting to see where it was going to go, because I have so much brush in the back here, I ended up soaking my yard for hours just so it was saturated before the fire came."
Maui County called for voluntary evacuations as the wind direction changed and the fire slowly crept toward a residential area.
More than 30 firefighters worked through the night, battling more than 17 different fingers of fire.
Maui firefighters joined Molokai firefighters. And the state land department dispatched 23 wildland firefighters at daylight Sunday.
"When I got up the fire was all around our place. And it was the scariest, most frightening experience I've ever gone through," Molokai resident Marie Yamashita said. "And I don't want to go through that again."
Four helicopters dropped water on the stubborn fire, using Kaunakakai's Cooke Memorial Pool as a water source.
By late Sunday morning, the homes were out of danger. The fire then headed in the Mauka direction.
"This is what's left," Molokai resident Lester Kanini Jr. said, surveying a dusty expanse of land. "We just gotta wait it out. Days of smoke and these weird dust storms."
One firefighter is in stable condition after being treated for smoke inhalation.
There were no other injuries reported.
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