KAPOLEI (HawaiiNewsNow) – A brush fire that forced the evacuation of a West Oahu shopping center Friday afternoon has been contained, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.

The drought has contributed to increased fire activity, and meteorologists said the dry weather is putting much of the state on the brink of extreme fire danger.

HFD first responded to the 911 call around 1:30 p.m. near Kapolei Parkway and Renton Road, near Ka Makana Alii.

The fire sent smoke billowing through the mall. At one point, no one except the authorities was allowed in and some stores had to close as a precaution.

On the other side of the fire, the flames came close to the historic plantation homes of Varona Village.

“It was 45 yards away and then within ten minutes it was in front of my house,” said Noel, a longtime resident.

Noel said he ran to get his elderly mother out of the house.

“It happened quickly. I mean quickly, until I got her out and signaled to my neighbor to come out of the house too.”

HFD officials said no homes were threatened and evacuations of Varona Village were halted. The fire was declared 100% contained at 5:30 p.m.

Still, fear remains, as does the dry grass that threatens to fuel more fires on the islands, with no significant rainfall in sight.

“We are in our typical dry season, but in years when La Niña sets in, summers are usually drier than normal, and that’s what we’ve seen in the downwind areas,” said Tom Birchard, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

Almost the entire state is affected by drought, with the drought being particularly severe in the sheltered areas of Haleakala on Maui.

Leeward Oahu is experiencing severe drought, while the rest of the island is experiencing moderate drought.

The National Weather Service said it has not issued such a warning since last November, but conditions are increasingly ripe for another one in the coming weeks.

“I looked at the observations at the airport today. One of the criteria we use is a relative humidity of about 45 percent for several hours. And today we were right at that limit,” Birchard said.

The only reason there was no red flag warning on Friday was because the winds were not strong enough. “But there will be windier periods and probably sufficiently dry periods if the drought index exceeds the critical thresholds,” Birchard said.

“We could probably see some potential warning signs in September.”

Birchard added that even without meeting the warning criteria, there could be afternoons when wildfires could spread rapidly.

On all islands, emergency services have been busy fighting bush fires this summer. And on Friday, the often unsung firefighters were victorious again without causing any damage to property.

“We are safe, the neighborhood is safe,” Noel said. “That’s the main thing.”

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