Two helicopters were dispatched to extinguish a small fire that was reported at 3:30 p.m. yesterday. Darkness halted the water drops, but county firefighters remained into the night to monitor the 3-acre area that burned.

This morning, Maui County fire crews and state Division of Forestry and Wildlife personnel responded to another flare-up that burned 7 acres of forest land.

Deputy Fire Chief Neal Bal said flare-ups can occur when burned-out trees fall, spreading embers. He also advised the public to avoid the burn areas.

"Our biggest concern right now is all-terrain vehicles entering the burned areas. These ATVs should not be in the area and are accessing it through private lands on the perimeter," Bal said "There are a lot of hot spots that could place the ATV operators in danger."

The brushfire, which started Feb. 18 above the Lahaina area's Puamana subdivision, burned 1,350 acres, including 29 acres are in the West Maui Natural Area Reserve and 91 in the Pana'ewa section.