Maui Fire Department investigators could not determine the cause of a fire Monday that destroyed a house and its contents valued at $1.17 million in the Maui Meadows subdivision in Wailea.

No one was home at the time, the fire department said today in a news release.

The fire destroyed the 3,535-square-foot home. A 2013 BMW and a 2007 Mercedes Benz, parked in the garage, also were destroyed, and were valued at $18,303 and $17,920, respectively.

A cottage next to the main house also received $5,000 in damage to its roof.

The fire broke out at about 4:28 p.m. on the 3200 block of Keha Drive. Firefighters found the house fully engulfed in flames that spread to the brush outside the house and up a hillside.

The fire also burned about 4,000 square feet of brush and trash in a vacant lot. No neighboring homes were damaged.

Firefighters extinguished it at 12:25 p.m. today.

The owners, part-time Maui residents, are currently living in Massachusetts. A tenant in the cottage was at home, and managed to escape without injury.

Area residents reported thick, black smoke and flames pouring from the house.

A battalion chief, 31 firefighters, seven companies and two water tankers responded to the blaze.