Big Island storm blocks highway, strands many
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — Another storm drenched the eastern side of the Big Island yesterday, closing the main Hawai'i Belt Road at two points and stranding many residents.
Meanwhile, a stubborn fire at a Kealakekua storage facility in West Hawai'i forced officials to close a road and evacuate nearby businesses and residents. Firefighters early last night had not extinguished the blaze at the Kona Self-Storage building on Haleki'i Street.
In East Hawai'i, police and fire officials had to turn back motorists while crews tried to reopen the main Big Island circular route. Bruce Butts, assistant administrator of the Civil Defense Agency, said the Red Cross opened shelters at Clem Akina Park in Pu'u'eo and at Honomu Gym for stranded travelers.
The area from Laupahoehoe to Hilo was under a flash flood warning that ended at 8:30 p.m. yesterday.
State highway crews were trying to clear a major landslide at the 12-mile marker that had blocked the island's major north-south route.
There was another partial closure of the road near Kolekole Park at the 14-mile marker. Earlier in the day, the route was closed north of Honoka'a at Ahualoa by water rushing over the roadway.
The heavy rains extended from Waimea to Hilo but did not affect Puna or Ka'u, which had been damaged in three other storms this year. There were reports of thunder and lightning and of several radio stations being knocked off the air for a brief time.
Dick Mitsutani of the National Weather Service in Hilo said the storm dumped more than 2 inches of rain along the coastal area from Hilo to Laupahoehoe during a 16-hour period. Officials reported heavy runoff because the area had been saturated by earlier storms.
Yesterday's storm pushed the east side of the island's rainfall for 2002 to more than 2 1/2 times normal. The wet spell, however, follows three years of dry weather that hurt farmers and ranchers.
Meanwhile, the fire in the Kealakekua storage building caused widespread damage to renters' property and was an inconvenience to neighbors.
The cause of the blaze, which was reported at 8:30 a.m., was not known.
Police said there was "severe damage, smoke and water damage" to about 80 units in the rental facility. Police said fire units had thought the blaze was out, but it rekindled yesterday afternoon and caused the worst of the damage. No one was hurt fighting the fire.
Firefighters last night remained at the scene to extinguish the blaze.
Staff writer Curtis Lum contributed to this report.
Reach Hugh Clark at 808-935-3916 or at hclark@honoluluadvertiser.com.
