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A brushfire in Kaanaapali Saturday afternoon rekindled the trauma and anger felt by those affected by the Aug. 8 fires in Upcountry and Lahaina that caused an estimated $5 billion or more in damage and left at least 115 dead.

Parts of Kaanapali, a small town about 4 miles north of Lahaina on Honoapiilani Highway, were ordered to evacuate “without delay” as sirens sounded and alerts were sent to mobile devices.

By 2 p.m., the county said firefighters were on the scene and had stopped the fire’s forward progress. Twenty minutes later, the county had sent an update saying the “fire situation has stabilized” and was not posing an active threat.

The evacuation order remained in effect until just before 5 p.m. when it was lifted, but nearly 700 Hawaiian Electric customers were still without power in the Kaanapali area. The extent of the fire in Kaanapali is unknown.

Greg Arnds lives in a house along the golf course near the Kaanapali fire site. He said he was gardening and cleaning his yard when he smelled smoke coming from nearby. When he looked up he could see the graying billows rising into the air but not any of the flames.

“After being what we’ve been through I panicked and called 911,” Arnds said. “I just prayed for the sound of sirens, the sirens from the fire trucks.”

Arnds said his son lost his house to the Lahaina fire and that two family storefronts were lost, including his daughter’s beauty parlor and the retail site for his own company, Tropic Water.

When Lahaina burned, there was little warning for the community. Some received emergency alerts on their phones while others did not.

Maui County officials decided not to activate its emergency warning sirens Aug. 8, which can be sounded in the event of a natural disaster.

This time around, Arnds said, it appears that they’ve learned their lesson. Emergency texts were sent out to cell phones while coastal sirens blared into the air.

“Where was that when we really needed it?” Arnds asked.

Arnds was not alone in his cynicism. Several others who received the evacuation notice commented about the county’s zealous response to the brushfire.

Stephen Murray is a survivor of the deadly wildfires in California that decimated the town of Paradise and killed 85.

He came to Maui to help those who were affected by the Aug. 8 fires and was delivering food to a couple of survivors who were staying in a house nearby when he heard someone screaming about a fire.

Murray got in his truck and drove down the hill, but paused to watch as firefighters worked to put out the blaze using hoses and a helicopter equipped with a bucket to help douse the flames.

“It’s just crazy to be in this all over again,” he said.

Calvin Miller and a friend watched from a golf cart as firefighters battled the brushfire.

His home was located just a few hundred yards from the blaze, and while people were told to evacuate he said it appeared that firefighters appeared to have it under control.

Still, he said, it was hard for him not to think about what happened in Lahaina just a few weeks prior while witnessing the emergency response.

“Obviously seeing something like this is triggering given all that happened before,” said Miller, whose house is located just a few hundred yards from the brushfire site. “It makes you worry.”

The sirens sounded Saturday during the Federal Resource Fair at the Lahaina Civic Center where hundreds of survivors of the Aug. 8 fires could start signing up for new Social Security cards, passports and access to federal benefits.

Midway through the fair — hosted by U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda and U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono — the lights went out and officials were alerted to the fire in Kaanapali.

Although there was little danger, Tokuda decided to end the fair early out of what she described as “an abundance of caution.”

Meanwhile, crews have still not fully contained the Aug. 8 wildfires in Lahaina, which was mostly destroyed, and Upcountry, where 19 homes were lost.

The latest update Saturday from the county shows the Olinda fire is 85% contained and burnt an estimated 1,081 acres; the Kula fire is 90% contained, burning 202 acres; and the Lahaina fire is 90% contained, burning 2,170 acres.

Officials are seeking help in identifying hundreds of individuals who were reported unaccounted for following the Lahaina wildfire.

The county identified two more people Saturday: Pablo Pagdilao III, 75, of Lahaina; and Coleen Jones, 59, of Lahaina.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by grants from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.