For the second time in five months, a persistent brush fire rekindled in Kula on Tuesday, a Maui Fire Department spokesman said.

Residents reported seeing smoke near Manawainui bridge on Piilani Highway in Kahikinui about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, and firefighters arrived about 4:30 p.m. to find a 50-by-20 foot area smoldering mauka of Piilani Highway, said MFD spokesman Edward Taomoto.

The fire was a rekindlement from a previous brush fire in November 2015.

The same spot rekindled on Feb. 9 and appeared to have been smoldering underground for quite some time, Taomoto said.

Firefighters extinguished the fire at 4:54 p.m.