An early-morning fire yesterday destroyed an unoccupied house at 99-963A Lalawai Drive.

"We were fortunate that it was vacant," said Battalion 5 Chief Ron Rico. "From what the neighbors told us, the former residents were evicted last week."

Neighbors said the property owner lives on Maui and that nobody was supposed to be living in the home, but that people were on the property earlier in the evening.

Firefighters got the fire under control in less than a half-hour and extinguished it by 3 a.m.

Neighborhood resident Joe Corelli said flames were 30 to 40 feet high.