A 1,000-acre wildfire that started in Lualualei Valley jumped into Waianae Valley, endangering homes at the end of Waianae Valley Road on Monday night.
An estimated two dozen homes were evacuated along or in the vicinity of Haleahi Road near what is known as Camp Waianae by the Honolulu Fire Department with the help of Honolulu police, said Capt. Terry Seelig, HFD spokesman, at about 7 p.m. The Hawaii State Chapter of the American Red Cross set up a shelter at Waianae District Park on Farrington Highway.
Flames about 5 feet tall came within 50 feet of Bernie Watts’ home on Haleahi Road.
"Everything we could hose, we hosed," Watts said.
At least 10 companies and both HFD helicopters were fighting the blaze on the Waianae Valley side. Earlier, about six companies were fighting the fire on the Lualualei side, where the blaze began at about 1:15 p.m., Seelig said.
"There are a lot of farm homes here," he said. "We’re doing what we can to protect the residences. There are some farm structures that are spread out. … We might not be able to save all of them, like hothouses and storage. Our focus is going to be to protect the residences and to control the fire."
It’s unclear how far the fire was from the homes. About 1,000 acres were burned, Seelig said.
About 50 acres were scorched in an area high above Naval Radio Transmitter Facility Lualualei, in a remote and inaccessible portion that firefighters had difficulty reaching on foot, Seelig said.
Because the fire began on federal property, federal firefighters took the lead initially.
Flames came within 15 feet of cabins at Camp Waianae, a Seventh-day Adventist camp for churches and schools.
Caretaker/camp ranger Darryl Roberts said no guests were there Monday, but he had to send his wife and four girls, ages 11, 10, 3 and 2, away "because the smoke was really bad."
"Campers are coming tomorrow," Roberts said. "Lucky thing they weren’t here today, or else they would have had to evacuate."
"The smell is going to be so bad," he added, saying he has attempted to contact the church group, which had a two-week stay planned.
The fire burned brush on the outskirts of the camp at 85-1560 Haleahi Road.
Old go-kart tracks made from old tires caught on fire when the flames came.
Four fire engines arrived after the fire broke out nearby at about 5 p.m., he said. A helicopter also dipped its bucket into the camp’s pool.
"Once it was coming through that valley, the wind picked it up, and it came in a lot faster. That’s why it jumped to the other mountain," Roberts said.
"I called my boss, and we said a prayer over the phone. I think that might have saved us," he added.
Watts said that when they built their Haleahi house in 2005, they put in a berm, knowing that the area was susceptible to fire. On Monday the only thing between them and the fire were firefighters and the berm.
"They (firefighters) did a really good job," Watts said.
Meanwhile, Honolulu firefighters were also battling a wildfire in an area behind Wilikina Drive in Wahiawa at about 2 p.m., Seelig said.
The fire appeared to be in the vicinity of some homeless camps, but there have not been any reports of homeless structures being destroyed, he said.
The total area burned there is about two acres, he said.
