Firefighters were extinguishing smoldering areas in a 6-acre Kula fire that was declared 100 percent contained Wednesday, two days after it was fanned by high winds and damaged one house, a fire official said.
Damage was estimated at $50,000 to the house at 274 Cooke Road after its roof caught on fire. Two other houses threatened by the fire didn't suffer any monetary damage, said Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga.
"Fire crews did an outstanding job in protecting these structures and saving them from the approaching brush fire," he said.
Mainaga said the fire, reported at 12:09 p.m. Monday near Hapapa and Cooke roads, may have been started by accidental electrical activity in transmission lines as high winds swept through the area. On Monday afternoon, winds were reported to be gusting in the 30-mph range in Kula, and at least one resident reported hearing a transformer blow around the time of the fire.
Some residents were evacuated Monday afternoon before being allowed to return to their homes Monday evening. Firefighters rescued two older dogs that had been in the house that was burned, Mainaga said.
Much of the firefighting effort Tuesday and Wednesday was focused on a gulch area where heavy eucalyptus logs were smoldering, said Battalion Chief Petro Garces.
