Rainy skies and a sharp decline in sales of firecracker permits suggested that O'ahu residents last night might ring in the new year a bit more quietly than usual.

The Honolulu Fire Department reported no serious fireworks-related incidents as of 10 p.m. Firefighters responded to an 11:34 p.m. alarm at a house on Kauhane Street in Papakolea, but the small fire was out when they arrived.

Flooding on Kamehameha Highway in Central O'ahu prompted police to close the highway near Kipapa bridge in both directions shortly before 6 p.m. The road was reopened at 8:47 p.m.

City officials said a drainage ditch overflowed, sending a rush of water through a neighborhood and onto the highway.

"The water was about knee-deep coming down the mountain. It was pretty intense," said Nichole Dau, who lives in the 12-home Kipapa Gulch Estates neighborhood. Yards were inundated, she said, but she was not aware of homes being flooded.

The National Weather Service issued flood advisories for O'ahu and Maui County. The advisory for O'ahu expired at 6:45 p.m.; the advisory for Maui County expired at 12:15 a.m. today.

About 400 Hawaiian Electric Co. customers in Manoa were without power last night because of a downed power line, but there was no indication that it was fireworks-related, HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg said.

The number of fireworks permits purchased on O'ahu had dropped nearly 25 percent from a year ago, the fire department reported.

There were 6,924 permits sold at satellite city halls, Honolulu Hale and Kapolei by the close of business yesterday, compared with 9,219 in 2007.

That extended a trend of declining sales since 2006. From a peak of 13,979 permits in 2005, 10,960 permits were sold in 2006.

As of 10 p.m. yesterday, firefighters had responded to 10 fires classified as "probable fireworks-related," fire department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said. The most serious was a brushfire on Kamilonui Place in Hawai'i Kai. The rest were fires in dumpsters or trash cans. There were no reports of injuries or property damage, Seelig said.