A downed power line sparked a brush fire that closed Franklin D. Roosevelt Avenue in Kalaeloa on Wednesday afternoon.

Firefighters were dispatched about 1:40 p.m. to Boxer Road and Franklin D. Roosevelt Avenue and found a downed power line with dry grass and brush on fire, said Honolulu Fire Department Capt. David Jenkins.

A Hawaiian Electric Co. representative was sent to the scene to de-energize the downed power line, and five fire companies brought the fire under control by 2:04 p.m. It was extinguished about 4:45 p.m.

The blaze burned about 2 acres, but no structures were damaged. A fire investigator determined the fire was caused by the downed power line, Jenkins said.

Fire damages 2 Kailua homes

Oily rags left in a cardboard box caused a spontaneous combustion fire that damaged two Kailua homes early Monday morning, Honolulu firefighters said Tuesday.

Honolulu Fire Department Capt. David Jenkins said an occupant of the home where the fire started reported that teak oil had been applied to furniture the day before the fire and the used cotton rags had been placed in a box in the garage where the fire started.

The fire caused about $150,000 in damage to the structure, contents and a neighboring property. Firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire in the 1450 block of Akupa Street at around 1 a.m. and found the single-story home engulfed in flames.

Jenkins urged those who store oil-, gas- or paint-soaked rags to keep them in a tightly sealed metal container. Cloths containing teak or linseed oil, stain, some oil-based paints, vegetable oil and other natural oils are subject to spontaneous ignition.