Kailua boulder to be removed

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KAILUA — A six-ton boulder perched atop a slope above homes on Iliwahi Loop is being removed after the landowner determined that it has become a potential danger.

There have been complaints about the rock off and on for years, but a recent call led Kaneohe Ranch Co. Ltd. to hire an engineer to evaluate the situation.

The engineer determined that years of erosion had made the rock unstable and recommended its removal, said Molly Mosher-Cates, vice president of Kaneohe Ranch.

"It was a concern for a neighbor, and looking up there, it certainly was a concern for us," she said.

A crew is expected to take about five days to secure the boulder in place in the Kalaheo Hillside area of Kailua, break it into small pieces and disperse the pieces in the valley behind the hill, said Mosher-Cates. The work will cost between $15,000 and $20,000.

The boulder, about 6 feet tall by 4 feet wide and 3 feet thick and estimated to weigh 5 to 6 tons, sits atop the hill about 240 feet above sea level.

A popular hiking trail leads to the rock, which someone has painted blue and decorated with a red "S."

Area residents said they have been concerned for 10 to 15 years but didn't think they were in immediate danger. Still, they said they were glad to see the work being done.

O'ahu has seen a number of rockfalls since last summer and heightened concerns about safety and liability. Several developers and landowners have responded with increased safety measures.

Mosher-Cates distributed letters informing neighbors about the Kalaheo Hillside work on Monday.

Kalaheo Hillside is an older community of mostly three- and four-bedroom houses on spacious lots. Homes along the hill have a chain-link fence and a concrete ditch above them to stop debris and divert water, neighbors said. The boulder sits about 200 feet from the nearest homes.

Robert Manuzak, who has lived across the street and in sight of the rock for 17 years, said the hike to the boulder is popular with kids.

Manuzak said his children said the rock was stable, but he added that he has seen the erosion over the years and called last year to complain.

Manuzak also recalled that someone managed to push a boulder down the hill about 10 to 15 years ago.

That rock shook the ground and caused neighbors to come out of their homes. The experience frightened many people, he said. Having another boulder come down is just a matter of time.

"If kids could have pushed down that one rock years ago, who knows when the others will fall down?" he wondered.

Darryl Rose said he recalls hearing the rumble of that boulder 15 years ago and how it shook the earth. The boulder stopped just above a stand of kiawe trees some 100 feet from homes, he said.

"I was always kind of leery of (the boulder)," Rose said. "I thought it was about time something is being done about it."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.