Honolulu firefighters encountered difficulties battling a two-alarm fire Tuesday at a two-story house in Lanikai.

After firefighters entered the building at 239 Kaelepulu Drive, they found poor structural conditions such as sagging floors and ceilings, and firefighters were unable to fight the fire from within the house, Honolulu fire spokesman Capt. David Jenkins said.

Jenkins said firefighters were attacking the blaze from the outside.

He said the house was unoccupied.

Firefighters got the alarm at 4:57 p.m. Tuesday and were at the scene nine minutes later, Jenkins said. At about 8:10 p.m. they reported the fire was under control.

The cause of the fire, along with estimated damage, remained under investigation, he said.

Oil spill slows westbound traffic on H-1

The westbound commute on the H-1 freeway moved slowly Tuesday afternoon and evening after an oil spill snarled traffic.

Police said the oil spill occurred at about 11 a.m. in a construction area on the H-1 near the Waimalu offramp, backing up westbound traffic.

The state Department of Transportation opened the HOV lane to all vehicles at about 5:14 p.m.

Cones blocking off the construction area were supposed to be removed at 2 p.m., but that was delayed because the spill wasn’t completely removed, which contributed to the gridlock, police said.