Posted on: Tuesday, May 11, 2004

EDITORIAL
Sacred Falls tragedy not frozen in time

As we pass the five-year anniversary of the fatal rockslide at O'ahu's Sacred Falls, it's incredible to think that this spectacular North Shore state park has been closed to hikers and gatherers for half a decade.

Eight people were killed on that ill-fated Mother's Day in 1999. The state settled a lawsuit by victims and their families for $8.5 million last year.

And it's perfectly understandable that the state doesn't want to risk a repeat of the disaster that struck when rocks and other debris cascaded down a dry waterfall onto the crowd at 70 to 100 mph. Rescue attempts were hampered by the remoteness of the location and sheer density of the crowd.

At the same time, though, we cannot let the tragedy become frozen in time. As nature teaches us repeatedly, lessons are learned and life goes on.

For example, the Honolulu Fire Department says it has a new command vehicle with superior equipment, and better hand-held radios to respond to disasters in such remote areas. Also, ambulance services have improved.

And now that people know how deadly a rockslide can be, they're bound to approach the area with extreme caution. For those visitors unaware of the dangers at Sacred Falls, there should be adequate signage and education to prepare them for flash floods and rockslides, as well as a functioning early warning system.

Earlier on, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources was looking at three levels of use for Sacred Falls State Park: active, moderately active and passive.

An active park would include a visitor center, picnicking, camping, walking trails and a parking lot with 55 spaces.

A moderately active park would be all the above save an information kiosk instead of a visitor center and no camping. And a passive park would have a parking lot and kiosk as well as trails that would not cross the stream.

But there's a strong possibility that none of this will happen and Sacred Falls public access will be closed indefinitely because of the fear of what might happen. That would be a shame.

With all due respect to the awesome and deadly power of nature in the Islands, it's time to reopen the valley, at least for restricted use for hikers and hunters and gatherers. Life and learning go on.