Investigators say fireworks are to blame for a 200-acre blaze in East Oahu that put lives and tens of millions of dollars of property in jeopardy.
No reported injuries or structure fires resulted, but firefighters say it's a reminder how dangerous illegal fireworks can be.
What at first appeared to be a moderate Fourth of July holiday for firefighters took a turn for the worse just after 9 p.m. in Kalama Valley.
"They were having a war with another guy on the other side of the valley. I saw the aerials and within five ten minutes after it stopped, there was a fire," said Kalama Valley resident Kyle Stanford.
Dry brush and trade winds stoked the fire quickly up to about 200 acres below Kamehame Ridge.
"Yea, the whole mountain side is up right now," said East Oahu resident Ajoi Purba.
"Oh yeah it's crazy. You never think it's going to happen to you, but hey, you live on the side of a mountain and we're in a drought. So it's all brown and dry, so you can only pray," said Stanford.
Eighty homes were evacuated while 12 fire companies fought the blaze.
"They did a really great job. I mean, they totally knew what they were doing. The fire was just moving so fast, but they had a plan in place and they were climbing over walls to get into the back," said Kalama Valley resident Ryan Sullivan.
"At the very worst of it, we were looking at walls of flames at 20-30 feet tall approaching the homes at the top of the ridge," said Capt. Terry Seelig with the Honolulu Fire Department.
Hot spots continued well into the next morning with crews and helicopter drops continuing to try to contain it. Officials pegged illegal fireworks as the cause.
"We had several reports of people observing a rocket landing on the - aerial - landing on the mountain," said Seelig. "People were reporting large aerial bursts with percussive effects and that's beyond a bottle rocket."
No structural damage or injuries were reported but officials warn it could have been worse.
"We were very fortunate we didn't lose property, but we saw on Kamehame how the potential loss there was probably in the tens of millions of value of real estate that was in Kalama Valley and up on the ridge. Probably as much as $50 million," said Seelig.
"Yeah, leave it to the professionals. Don't leave these monkeys come up here and start fires. It's costing people's homes and could cause someone's life, you know. It's not worth it," said Stanford.
Fire officials say it's now up to police to determine who fired the aerial rockets.
