KAHULUI — Neighbors in the Legends at Maui Lani held hands in prayer as firefighters fought approximately 100 yards behind their backyards to keep a brush fire away yesterday afternoon.

"The firefighters were really on it," said Bill Staton, an Anamuli Street home owner who could have been one of the first to lose his residence if conditions had not favored him and his neighbors.

Afternoon winds seemed to be blowing the fire toward Maalaea and not Kahului, where dozens of homes initially were threatened by a fire off Kuihelani Highway near Waiko Road.

At the suggestion of Danielle Brown, a resident on Hooheno Street, Staton and others gathered in a circle, holding hands and reciting a prayer of thanksgiving. "Thank you to the firefighters, thank you to the police, thank you to everyone," Staton said.

Brown's husband, Michael, said he was taking a nap around 2:30 p.m. when his children called him to see a fire outside. He hesitated at first, but then got up because of their insistence.

By the time the Browns arrived on Anamuli Street, a caravan of neighbors had taken out hoses and were watering down their yards and their homes. Brown said the fire seemed to be blowing south and away from the homes and instead of flames, there was just smoke. "We could see they (firefighters) were doing a great job," Brown said.

County spokeswoman Mahina Martin said the alarm came in around 2:31 p.m. Air One and multiple tankers including a fire engine from Upcountry responded within minutes. The fire was under control by 6:30 p.m.

Authorities talked it over and determined there was no need to evacuate the nearby homes at the Legends at Maui Lani subdivision.

Within a half-hour of the fire's being ignited, Neil Sorensen said, "It looks like it's controlled." He lives two houses down from Staton.

Sorensen said he was called by a neighbor to see the fire outside his backyard around 2:45 p.m. At that time, Sorensen estimated flames to be about 30 feet high.

"I started thinking I have to make sure I have my wallet and my cell phone," he said. Sorensen drove his car out of the garage and into the street. Like many of his neighbors, he took a hose and watered down his yard, his home and even the sandy outside perimeter of his home.

"I don't know how much it'll help," Sorensen said.

Staton said the brush that had been growing immediately behind their backyards was cleared away for more development two or three months ago. "Talk about perfect timing."

There was no word on what caused the fire Sunday.