Smoke from a strangely elusive fire prompted the evacuation of the Ala Moana Center food court Friday afternoon.

Honolulu Fire Department personnel responding to a 2:37 p.m. alarm found light smoke in the area near the Sbarro and Senor Pepe takeout counters.

The shopping center’s sprinkler systems had already activated, indicating the presence of a fire, although the fire itself could not immediately be located, according to HFD spokes­man Capt. David Jen­kins.

Jenkins said the fire likely occurred somewhere within Makai Market’s extensive ventilation system, as suggested by the relatively light smoke within the food court and the thick smoke billowing from a topside vent into the open air.

As of 8:30 p.m. Friday, fire investigators still had not pinpointed the origin of the smoke.

Thirty-four HFD personnel representing nine companies initially responded to the fire.

Employees from Sbarro first alerted center security to the smoke at about 2:30 p.m.

Angeline Andres, a Senor Pepe employee, said she and her co-workers had noticed excessive smoke coming from a vent hood at Sbarro earlier in the day but were not aware of anything more serious until the sprinklers activated and an evacuation was initiated.

Ala Moana Center security evacuated the ground-level food court, as well as areas directly above the food court on the second and third levels, according to a statement from center management.

"It was really scary," Andres said. "There was a big rush of people all heading for the doors."

Andres said the eating area was nearly full when the evacuation began.

An hour after the food court was cleared, employees from the more than 30 restaurants in the complex lingered outside locked sliding doors, some waiting to close their registers and secure their facilities, others wondering what was to become of their scheduled shifts.

No injuries were reported, and no damage estimates were immediately available.

Four years ago a kitchen fire at Panda Express prompted a similar evacuation.

In the aftermath of that incident, several nearby restaurants and stores were temporarily closed due to smoke and water damage.