LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A fire in a remote area of Kaua'i's North Shore that consumed 50 acres was contained but still smoldering this afternoon.

A crew of 11 state firefighters were checking the area after a military contractor dropped water on the fire from a helicopter this afternoon, state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman Debbie Ward said.

"The area is too steep for any effective suppression activity on the ground," Ward said. The ground crew was using hand tools to "mop up" accessible areas.

The Kaua'i Fire Department shuttled about 28 day hikers by inflatable boat from Hanakapi'ai Beach, west of the fire, to Ke'e Beach, which is accessible by Kuhio Highway.

The rescue of hikers was done after the fire, which may have started Saturday from a campfire, crossed the hiking trail. Hanakapi'ai Beach is reachable only by the Kalalau Trail or by boat.

Croman Corp., a contractor at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i, dropped as many as 20 500-gallon buckets of water from a helicopter today to help fight the fire, facility spokesman Tom Clements said.

The state DLNR, which oversees state recreation areas such as the trail, will investigate the cause of the fire, Ward said.

The Kalalau Trail is closed until the fire is extinguished and the trail assessed, she said.