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Honolulu Fire Department personnel continue to battle a pair of brush fires in Leeward Oahu that forced road closures and the evacuation of some Makaha and Waianae residents on Saturday. Read more

UPDATE: 6:30 a.m.

Honolulu Fire Department personnel continue to battle a pair of brush fires in Leeward Oahu today.

In Makaha Valley, 79 firefighters in total responded using 27 trucks on Saturday, with no structures damaged and no injuries reported. Approximately 2,500 acres burned by late evening and HFD reports the fire is 30 percent contained.

In Waianae Valley, about 1,500 acres have burned so far and five farm-type structures were damaged. One minor injury was reported; the fire is 50 percent contained.

HFD and the Honolulu Police Department remain in both areas. Additional evacuations remain a possibility as crews continue to fight the fires.

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More than 100 firefighters battled separate brush fires Saturday that bounded through two valleys in Leeward Oahu, forcing road closures and the evacuation of some Makaha and Waianae residents.

By 8:30 p.m., the fires were nowhere near contained, and with darkness prevailing, Honolulu Fire Department officials were repositioning their resources to protect homes and other structures.

PHOTO GALLERY >> Large brush fires rage on Oahu’s Leeward coast

The American Red Cross opened a shelter at the Maili Elementary School cafeteria, where 40 people had checked in by 8 p.m. and 100 more were expected, according to Red Cross volunteer Paulette Dibibar.

The fires shut down traffic on Farrington Highway in Makaha and caused the evacuation of Mahinaau, Maiuu and Kaulawaha roads in Waianae and other isolated areas.

Honolulu Fire Department officials said the fires had burned 2,500 acres in Makaha and 1,500 acres in Waianae. The causes had not been determined.

According to Fire Capt. Scot Seguirant, the Makaha Valley fire was called in at 10:07 a.m., with 27 trucks and 79 firefighters dispatched to the scene. The Waianae Valley fire was reported at 11:56 a.m., with 16 trucks and 35 firefighters responding.

Helicopters were also called in to douse the flames.

“This is one of the bigger brush fires in recent memory,” Seguirant said. “We’ve sent a lot of personnel.”

Seguirant said firefighters faced many hazardous conditions as the fire swept through steep terrain and high brush.

“They are wearing protective gear and carrying heavy equipment so it doesn’t make them the most mobile,” he said. “When a fire goes on this long, the muscles get tired and they also battle fatigue.”

Seguirant said firefighters at one point worried that flames were getting too close to a propane tank at the 582-unit Makaha Valley Towers.

“There’s a limited amount of water and if the propane tank heats up enough it will ignite and really become its own hazard,” he said. “Luckily, that threat was averted.”

Jim Richardson, who lives on the 19th floor of Makaha Valley Towers, said the fire came within 30 feet of the building and was still burning as of 7 p.m.

“My eyes are watering because my place is full of smoke and I’ve been vacuuming up little black tendrils off the floor all day,” Richardson said. “I’ve lived here since the 1980s and this is by far the most threatening fire that I’ve seen out here.”

Seguirant said there was no official confirmation that any structures had burned although there were reports the flames may have reached three structures.

Lenor Mack, who is waiting for her purchase of a home in Makaha Valley to close on Monday, said she got a call from the seller late Saturday afternoon telling her the property’s backyard had caught fire.

“Nobody got hurt and it didn’t reach the house, but I was like wow, just wow,” said Mack as she watched tentacles of fire move down the mountainous terrain near the Waianae home where she’s temporarily staying.

“I’ve from Springerville, Ariz., near White Mountain where there are a lot of wild fires. We had to evacuate and that was scary, but we didn’t see any flames there,” she said.

April Cox, a Makaha resident who lives in Ohikilolo Ranch, said the fire was the worst she has seen in the region.

“We’ve had mountain fires but never this bad,” said Cox of the fire that extended to Keaau Beach Park.

Matt Wagner, who was camping at a Makaha Beach cottage with friends Saturday, said they smelled smoke as early as Friday afternoon and conditions worsened from there.

“We thought someone was barbecuing, then we saw the flames,” Wagner said. “There were flakes of ash all day today.”

On Friday night, a separate wildland fire burned five acres on the hillside near Maili Point.

A total of eight HFD units carrying 21 firefighters responded, with the first unit arriving at 7:47 p.m. to find the fire on the mauka side of Farrington Highway spreading up the hillside. The blaze was contained by 10:55 p.m. and there were no reports of damage to any structures.

Although extinguished, embers were still visible on the hillside Saturday, fire officials said they are not near any unburned brush and there are adequate fire breaks to avoid a flareup.