As police and fire officials announced yesterday that a rash of brushfires in the Waiawa Ridge area may have been intentionally set, two new fires erupted and two men were seen apparently fleeing from the area.

If it is determined the latest blazes, too, were intentionally set, that would make 11 such fires since early August in the area, which is in the vicinity of H-2 Freeway at Ka Uka Boulevard in Waipi'o.

While the fires have not resulted in any injuries or damage to buildings, they have at times closed H-2, inconvenienced thousands of residents, threatened power lines, endangered firefighters and diminished the fire department's ability to respond to other fires, said Honolulu Fire Chief Kenneth Silva.

Before yesterday's blazes broke out, the area had seen nine recent fires, plus numerous flareups that required firefighters' attention.

"Our preliminary investigation shows that these fires may have been intentionally set," Silva said yesterday in a press conference after a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at Tamarind Square. "That taxes our limited resources that are left to protect the rest of the island."

The number of fires, their proximity and other observations lead officials to believe the fires were intentionally set.

A joint police and fire department task force has been formed to investigate the fires, said Silva and Maj. Clayton Kau of the Honolulu Police Department. When arsonists struck Nanakuli with multiple fires in 2005, a similar task force led to arrests in the case.

Those fires led the Legislature to approve penalties for those who set brushfires that burn more than 10,000 square feet. That law created four degrees of arson violations, with maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. The least of the violations, fourth-degree arson, is considered a misdemeanor and carries penalties of up to a year in jail and fines of up to $2,000.

As Silva spoke next to Tamarind Park on Bishop Street yesterday, firefighters were rushing to the scene of two brushfires at Waiawa Ridge and this time witnesses reported seeing two men fleeing in a vehicle, Kau said.

In a scene that has played out numerous times in the past six weeks, the fires prompted closure of H-2 between the H-1 merge and Ka Uka Boulevard for more than an hour.

Firefighters considered evacuating residents as one of the brushfires, which started on the mauka side of the freeway, crawled underneath and came within 200 yards of homes in the Sea-view neighborhood, said fire department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig.

"There was no immediate danger, but the potential was there," Seelig said.

Kau appealed to anyone with information about the blazes to call 911.

"It taxes our limited resources," Silva said of the fires. "We are an island community, so we're all part of the same community. This puts all of us at risk."