KAUNAKAKAI, Molo-ka'i — Wilderness firefighters have been in mop-up mode after a brushfire torched thousands of acres on Moloka'i, said Gen Iinuma, Maui County Civil Defense administrator.

The fire, which burned 12 square miles on the outskirts of Moloka'i's most populous town, claimed no lives, homes or businesses.

But Iinuma said that while the fire was totally contained, flare-ups were still possible.

The fire has been reined in enough that Moloka'i firefighters are handling it on their own, he said yesterday, and nearly all personnel from other departments had left the island.

Firefighters have been scouring the charred landscape on foot searching for hot spots, often using picks and shovels to unearth smoldering root systems of kiawe trees and douse them with water.

Some of the toughest going has been in the Makakupaia section of Moloka'i Forest Reserve, where altitude reaches almost 4,000 feet and footing is a combination of loose dirt, hardened lava and thick underbrush.

Rain and mud have slowed down some of the heavy equipment such as firetrucks, bulldozers and water tankers.

Iinuma had nothing but praise for the firefighters who risked their lives and residents who gave whatever they could to assist them, such as home-cooked meals and trunkloads of ice water and soda.

Moloka'i's population of 7,200 has Hawai'i's worst unemployment rate at more than 16 percent, so firefighters, community organizers and politicians said the Friendly Isle's sacrifices have been particularly heartwarming.

However, Iinuma also warned that the fire season is expected to last for a few more months. He called on residents to continue to be vigilant and do what they can to remove dead trees and overgrown brush, and to maintain the island's network of firebreaks.

Over the weekend, the Maui County Fire Department also broke down its central command post, which coordinated the resources and efforts of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, nonprofit Nature Conservancy, federal National Park Service, American Red Cross and crews from the county's Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Police and Fire departments. The new point person is Moloka'i fire Capt. Hanalei Lindo.

"Everything is going so well we decided to terminate the old command structure," Iinuma said. "But while the fire is 100 percent contained, it's not controlled. And there are still places with unburned fuel that we have to be very cognizant of.

"Just because of the way kiawe burns slow, we're going to have some smoldering for several days, or weeks even."

The cause of the fire, which first broke out around noon Aug. 29 near Kikipua Street, mauka of Kaunakakai, is under investigation.

Iinuma said the agencies also are just beginning to tally the cost of fighting the fire, and Maui County plans to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency grants.