LAHAINA - Firefighters were mopping up Saturday night after a brush fire raged near the Lahaina Cannery Mall, burning about 4 acres.
After receiving the call at 3:04 p.m., fire units from Lahaina, Kihei and Wailea and the Air One chopper responded to the blaze at 60 Kenui St., Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga said in a news release.
The fire was contained at 7:45 p.m., and fire crews were still on the scene at 10 p.m. mopping up. Goodfellow Brothers, West Maui Land and Maui County Public Works assisted with fighting the fire.
Article Photos
A fire burned near the Lahaina Cannery Mall on Saturday afternoon. Maui firefighters battled the blaze that did not damage structures but forced at least one business to shut down due to the smoke.
KEVIN J. OLSON photo
The cause of the fire was undetermined, Mainaga said. There was no reported damage or injuries.
However, Teddy's Bigger Burgers restaurant in the Lahaina Gateway shopping center closed its doors for about an hour Saturday afternoon because of heavy smoke coming into the store.
"It was stinking up the place and making it really hard for employees to work, and we didn't want anyone in here eating when it was so smoky," said supervisor Matthew Honda. "We finished up what was on the grill and closed up around 4 (p.m.) to try to let the place air out."
Honda said he could see large amounts of black smoke coming from the brush along the shopping center's perimeter.
"It was getting kind of close to our parking lot at one point," he said. "You could see the flames."
Kevin J. Olson of Kihei was driving by the fire at about 4 p.m. and described "occasional explosions" and heard what he believed to be gunshots.
He said the flames occasionally topped the heights of kiawe trees in the area. The smoke rose 40 to 50 feet high, he said.
A Longs Drugs employee at the Lahaina Cannery Mall said smoke from the fire was blowing away from the mall and wasn't having an effect on customers or employees.
Mainaga said Honoapiilani Highway was kept open to traffic during the blaze.
