Updated at 11:45 p.m., Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Maui power out again; 1 shelter open
Advertiser Staff
WAILEA, Maui — Residents, visitors and businesses in Wailea who had been without power most of the day saw their electricity restored around 7 tonight, but fell back into darkess when Maui Electric Co. transmission lines went down again a little more than an hour later.MECO spokeswoman Kaui Awai-Dickson said the latest outage was expected to last hours while crews tried to find the source of the problem and make repairs.
The lights in South Maui went out at 9:40 a.m. today when the utility lost two transmission lines that feed power from the Ma'alaea Power Plant to customers in Kihei and Wailea. One line was lost due to eight downed poles, and insulators failed on the second line, Awai-Dickson said.
Power also was restored to parts of Kula, but Awai-Dickson said MECO customers in Upcountry areas who remain without power are likely to stay in the dark for the rest of the night.
Meanwhile, American Red Cross volunteers opened three emergency shelters on Maui due to the severe weather affecting the island.
A shelter is currently open at Kihei Community Center at 303 East Lipoa St. due to flooding in the area.
The Red Cross has closed shelters that were opened at Eddie Tam Memorial Center in Makawao and Kula Community Center.
