Hawaii authorities evacuate area of Lahaina due to brush fire near site of deadly blaze

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — A brush fire on Saturday prompted Maui authorities to evacuate residents from a neighborhood of Lahaina, just a few miles from the site recently ravaged by blazes.

An evacuation order had been issued for a residential part of Lahaina in the hills above Kaanapali resort hotels, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said. The order was for an area around Anapuni Loop, the agency said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Later, Maui County said in an Instagram post that firefighters had “stopped forward progress of the fire.” The county said the fire no longer posed an active threat but firefighters were working in the area and evacuees should stay clear until it was safe to return.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were affected by the evacuation order.

At least 115 people were killed and 2,000 structures destroyed when a wildfire tore through downtown Lahaina on Aug. 8. Minimal rains have pushed the area into drought.

That fire was exacerbated by strong trade winds fueled in part by Hurricane Dora, which passed by 500 miles (800 kilometers) to the south of Maui.

The National Weather Service forecast breezes of 3 to 8 mph (4.8 to 12 kph) for Lahaina on Saturday afternoon.