Residents of the Makaha Towers this morning reported that the thick smoke has blocked out views of the ocean. Longtime Wai'anae area resident and former Advertiser reporter Bunky Bakutis said dense smoke is wafting into Makaka Valley.

"I'm standing here in the Tamura Supermarket parking lot in Wai'anae, and you can't see anything in Makaha Valley," Bakutis said at about 12:15 p.m.

"It's been smoky since Sunday but it's especially bad today. There's just a huge, dark cloud of smoke descending on the (Makaha) Valley bellow Mount Ka'ala," Bakutis said.

He said the thick smoke cloud extends into the Ohikilolo area as well, between Makaha and Yokohama Bay.

Gavan Imamura, Red Cross disaster coordinator for O'ahu, advised people who have respiratory problems or are bothered by the smoke to seek shelter upwind.

The key to dealing with the smoke is to remain calm and be prepared to move quickly to another area in case that's necessary, he said.

Imamura also advised keeping medications handy.

The brushfire is continuing to burn out of control on the Waialua side of Mount Ka'ala, but it has not burned up and over the Wai'anae Mountain ridge line and is not expected to, said Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Terry Seelig.

The Honolulu Fire Department reports that 20 companies of firefighters, along with helicopters dropping buckets of water, are working to keep the fire contained to the North Shore side of the mountains. So far the effort has succeeded, officials said. However, much depends on high winds, which have been fanning the out-of-control flames for the past two nights.