Hawaii County firefighters are battling a large brush fire today that has burned more than 800 acres in Kau.

Nine units and more than 25 firefighters responded to the fire at pasture land along a remote coastline below Naalehu town shortly after 5:15 a.m. Thursday. When they arrived, they observed the fire scorching about five acres of grass and brush.

The Hawaii County Fire Department said they had limited access to the area of the fire and strong tradewinds caused flames to spread.

Firefighters used bulldozers to create fire breaks while two helicopters administered water drops.

As of 6 p.m. Thursday, the fire burned about 840 acres before the fire started to subside overnight.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.