Folks along Leihoku Street saw a spectacular but frightful ring of flames transform the ridge behind Pokai Bay Estates into what resembled Kilauea volcano.

The neighborhood of decade-old, two-story houses was littered with fire engines, ambulances and spectators lined along one side of the street.

"There were some reports of homes being threatened after a fire broke out on Leihoku Street," said Capt. Emmit Kane, fire department spokesman. "Fortunately our guys were able to get there in a timely manner and there's no report of any damage to any homes at this time."

Kane said that the fire is "in areas that are inaccessible by foot again." One person, he said, was treated for smoke inhalation.

Earlier, some homeowners in Nanakuli were told to water their roofs and advised to evacuate.

"The (Nanakuli) fire is in points that are inaccessible," HFD battalion chief Hiram Keliipio said before nightfall. "The helicopters can't go up because it's unsafe for them to fly in the strong winds with such dense smoke. So we're going to wait and see what happens. Basically, our plan for tonight is to defend the houses."

Firefighters had thought the fire was under control in the morning. But Keliipio said high winds blowing from the mountain to the sea had flared scattered hot embers — and all at once, the fire was bigger than ever.

"Usually when the wind blows like this, it kills it on the windward side so it doesn't come over to the leeward side," he said. "But the problem is that the bottom of the ridge is where the fire is turning around. And if it comes down here, then we've got to worry about all the houses along Nanakuli Avenue."

Meanwhile, the flames were kicking up again on the Lualualei Valley side of the ridge and federal firefighters were trying to figure out what to do there.

Firefighters silhouetted against flames battle a brushfire in Wai'anae near the corner of Leihoku and Hoku'ukali streets. A third of the fire department's resources fought fires last night on the Leeward Coast. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Keliipio said that Civil Defense had begun setting up a shelter in the area and that a hazardous materials unit had been called in to check the air quality at the top of the hill where Nanakuli and Haleakala avenues meet and the point at which homes and the wilderness meet.

"We're trying to determine if those people should get out already," said Keliipio, who added that firefighters could only advise residents to leave.

But Barbara Needham who lives on Maiaiholena Place very near where Nanakuli and Haleakala meet, already knew her response to that advice.

"If they tell me to evacuate, I won't," said Needham. "I'll just close all the doors and windows, turn on all the air conditioners and watch TV."

Still, Needham, who has lived there since 1978 and watched many fires on the ridges above Nanakuli Valley, confessed she had never seen anything that equaled the smoke, heat and flames yesterday afternoon.

"This week has been the worst we've seen in all the years we've lived here," she said. "And today is the worst day since this all started on Tuesday. The firefighters advised us that the fire is out of control, and they said to water down our roofs.

"This morning we thought it was all over. And then, at around 2:30, it all just went like crazy."

Needham's next-door neighbor, Abbie Sanchez, watched as neighbors stood on their roofs with hoses and sprayed the shingles. She admitted she was worried.

"It's so scary," she said. "Everything is so dry here. We've seen these things before, but we've never seen it so scary.

At about 8 p.m., workers from a neighboring ranch were bulldozing roads between the blazing, west-facing hillside and Nanakuli homes about three-quarters of a mile away, said Kane, the fire department spokesman.

"In the event the wind should change and move toward the homes, we'll be able to get our hose lines in and make a stand between the homes and the fire's progress," he said.

Civil Defense and the Red Cross set up a shelter at Ma'ili Elementary School where residents could escape the smoke, he said.

By about 8 p.m. yesterday, more than 2,000 acres had burned in the brushfire, Kane said.