Another large brushfire that appears to have been deliberately set plagued O'ahu firefighters yesterday.

This time the blaze, which scorched 500 acres, was in Waialua.

Responding to an 11:45 a.m. call reporting signs of smoke near Kaukonahua Road and Hukilau Loop, firefighters found a fire that required the efforts of more than 60 city and federal firefighters.

At 9:30 last night HFD Capt. Kenison Tejada said the fire was contained and "we think it was deliberately set."

Earlier in the day Tejada said, "It's been moving in and out of the gulches and when the wind gets it we don't know what it's going to do. It's kind of spread out all over the place. ... It kind of makes it hard. The wind keeps shifting around and we want to make sure it doesn't run toward Hale'iwa."

Meanwhile, police continued to search for those responsible for fires deliberately set earlier this week along the Leeward Coast.

And on Maui, authorities continue to investigate a series of suspicious brushfires that merged into one large blaze Tuesday morning, charring more than 150 acres and snarling traffic on the road linking West Maui and Central Maui for most of the day.

Honolulu police said they haven't received a single tip to help them identify any suspects in connection with the spate of deliberately set fires that occurred along the Leeward Coast from mid-June to July 11. Hono-lulu police Sgt. Kim Capllonch, the CrimeStoppers coordinator, said her unit had not received any phone calls about the fires by yesterday afternoon despite police and firefighters' pleas to the public for information about possible suspects.

Campbell Estate is offering a $1,000 reward to the first person to call radio station KSSK with information leading to the arrest of those involved in the July 11 brushfires on O'ahu.

Maj. Mike Tamashiro, head of HPD's District 8 patrol operations, said officers have been out in the community patrolling. He stressed that community assistance was key to identifying and arresting anyone responsible for the fires.

He said there were 55 fires on the Leeward Coast in July 2004. Two weeks into this month there have been nearly 60, he said.

According to the Honolulu Fire Department, there have been 569 brushfires on O'ahu this year as of July 12.

"So far we haven't lost life or limb but we're afraid we might reach that point," said Tamashiro. "It's frustrating for us and it's even tougher on the firefighters. It's not as easy as people think (to catch the culprits). We really need help from the community. We're out there but it's a lot of coastline out here. We're trying to do the best we can but we really need the help of the community."

On Monday, arsonists ignited at least six brushfires on the Leeward Coast, closing roads and forcing about one-quarter of the Fire Department's resources into the area.

The fires burned more than 100 acres and required about 150 firefighters to shuttle back and forth from scene to scene for more than eight hours.

Maui fire crews yesterday remained at the fire scene along a one-mile stretch of the Honoa-pi'ilani Highway, between Ma'a-laea and the scenic lookout, mopping up and dousing hot spots, said Battalion Chief Frank Tam.

A stubborn brushfire in the West Maui Mountains above Lahaina also was being dealt with yesterday by State Division of Forestry and Wildlife crews. That fire, about 30 acres in size, began at about 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Officials said they didn't know whether the two fires were linked, or whether there was any connection to a small fire that erupted near the Kihei Boat Ramp early Tuesday.

Fire officials said the Honoapi'ilani Highway fire appeared to be maliciously set in at least four locations along the road. Telephone poles and wires were scorched, and the flames jumped the highway at one point, burning an acre of brush.

The highway was shut down from about 2 to 7 a.m., when police allowed one lane to flow, allowing turns for each direction. Even so, traffic was congested on both sides of the highway and remained that way until both lanes were opened at 10:34 p.m., said Ellen Pelissero, Maui County spokeswoman.

No estimates were available on the cost to fight the fire, officials said.