Firefighters used a perimeter of dirt to contain a fire in the Wa'ahila Ridge area until a helicopter could drop water on the hard-to-reach blaze. Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser

Before firefighters arrived on Wa'ahila Ridge, they received a little help from a group of people who were visiting in the area.

Cee Ellauri, 26, Cameron Lovelace, 21, Jonathan Brousseau, 21, and three others did their best to keep the fire under control until help arrived about 15 minutes later.

Ellauri, whose hands were blistered and face red from the heat, said the group used blankets and dirt to try to prevent flames from moving up the pine trees, where it could have easily spread.

"We feel good about how we handled it, and I think it helped," Ellauri said.

Firefighters arrived at about 3:30 p.m. and found that the blaze was in an area that can be reached only on foot and was at least a quarter-mile over rough terrain from the nearest fire hydrant.

The fire, about a half-mile down a dirt trail from the Wa'ahila Ridge State Recreation Area, started at the homeless camp at about 3:15 p.m. and quickly spread to cover an area about 50 feet in diameter, according to Fire Department Battalion Chief James Arciero.

A Fire Department helicopter was called in to drop buckets of water collected at Noelani Elementary School in Manoa. The helicopter crew had to be careful to avoid the power lines that run up the ridge.

Meanwhile, firefighters at the campsite used shovels to create a perimeter of dirt.

The fire was under control by about 4 p.m.

Fortunately, the area was damp from recent rain and the undergrowth still green, or the fire could have spread more quickly and created real problems for firefighters, Arciero said.

Earlier, fires at or near two schools demanded attention.

A small fire underneath the bleachers at the Kahuku High School stadium was reported at noon, and Honolulu firefighters extinguished the blaze in 15 minutes, said Fire Capt. Emmit Kane.