KAHULUI - Firefighters across Maui and on Lanai responded to several brush fires Saturday, the Fourth of July, most of them believed to be caused by the use of novelty fireworks.
The largest of the brush fires occurred Saturday afternoon in Kahului in a 2- to 3-acre lot between Lowe's and Wal-Mart. No injuries were reported.
A Maui County Fire Department spokesman also said that none of the brush fires Saturday threatened people or structures.
Brush fires occurred in different areas, beginning at about midday Saturday through midnight in Central Maui, Lahaina, Kihei and Paia.
In many instances, firefighters responding to the brush fires found debris from novelty fireworks, but nobody was around when they arrived at the scene.
There were no reports of brush fires on Molokai, and the one on Lanai occurred on a quarter acre by a Hawaiian Homesteads subdivision at about 9 p.m.
All of the fires were extinguished by daybreak Sunday.
County retailers did not sell firecrackers for the second year in a row, and residents did not apply for the $25 county permit required to purchase firecrackers.
Items such as sparklers and fountains were being sold at stores around the county, and fire department officials warned that such novelty fireworks could still be dangerous and that precautions should be taken.
Fireworks were supposed to be used only between 1 and 9 p.m. on the holiday.
