Utility poles snapped like match sticks, trees were ripped up by their roots, roofs were torn off, and lawn furniture, holiday ornaments and shrubs were scattered asunder. It was a night to remember on the Wai'anae Coast, which has had more than its share of disasters along Farrington Highway over the years.

That four-lane road, the only avenue in and out of the area, was closed after high winds toppled power poles like dominoes and cut off power from one end of the coast to the other shortly after 3 a.m.

"This entire Wai'anae Coast is held hostage," Patty Teruya, who chairs the Wai'anae Coast Neighborhood Board, said early yesterday morning. "No access road, no electricity, no lights — just a nightmare."

Worst hit was a stretch along Farrington in Nanakuli between Helelua and Auyong Homestead Road, the same stretch where wind blew 13 utility poles across the highway on March 12, 2006, momentarily trapping motorists under live power lines.

"The only difference is last time the winds came from the mountains," said Robert Campbell, a local manager for Hawaiian Telcom, as he surveyed the damage. "This time it came from the ocean."

The official tally of downed poles totaled 16 — just in Nanakuli. Another 16 or so hit the ground between Ma'ili and Wai'anae.

Instead of trapping motorists, yesterday's sea winds toppled poles toward the mountains, essentially trapping businesses because downed power lines blocked parking lot entrances. The Pacific Shopping Mall, for example, was completely shut off from Farrington. Like other stores along the disaster zone, Sack 'N Save, the mall's major business, did what it could in the dark on a limited basis.

'DIG A TRENCH' INSTEAD

"They ought to dig a trench and bury all these power lines under ground," said Woody Allwood, a security guard keeping a vigil in the mall's empty lot. "Every time there's high winds or a hurricane, these poles come down. It happens every time."

The fact that the poles came down twice in less than two years was not lost on Darren Pai, spokesman for Hawaiian Electric Co. He described both instances as major disruptions.

"When we put up these poles we intend for them to last," Pai said.

"We're going to do our best to restore power here, and put these poles back up. A lot of these poles are the replacements for those that went down in the other wind storm, so that gives you some idea of how severe the winds were in this case."

Pai couldn't say how long it would take to restore power, but asked for everybody's patience, saying it could take until today or longer. While outages left tens of thousands of customers without power across O'ahu, Pai said the largest concentration of HECO crews were focused along Farrington Highway, along with crews from private contractors.

Fastop convenience store, damaged when a power pole collapsed part of the canopy over the shop's gas pumps, was closed. Other concerns did their best. Sales associate Edvina Drapesa at the 7-Eleven store at Farrington and Auyong Homestead Road was opening the doors to three customers in for every three out.

"We have no back-up generators, so if the freezers melt they melt," she said.

SCARED BUT SAFE

At Mahalo Express, sales clerk Chauna Gomes taped a hand-printed sign to the convenience store window: "Ice cream 50 percent off now."

Somehow, folks along the coast seemed to take it all in stride, possibly because they were getting used to it. Authorities reported no serious injuries — although James Antone, 63, of Nanakuli said he was scared out of his wits in the early morning hours after his 2005 Nissan Titan was stuck by live power lines as he was leaving the Tesoro gas pumps to pull onto Farrington and head for work.

"It exploded the transformers in the wind and the rain, and it just brought down everything," Antone said. "The cables smashed my windshield. They were still hot. The things were so heavy I couldn't move. I put it in reverse, and it still wouldn't go. I was afraid, but I got out and just ran."

Antone made it to safety. His truck had to be towed to the shop.

The coast's homeless population living on the beaches spent the day securing their tents and belongings in anticipation of more stormy weather to come. Some had wrestled Tuesday night with whether to stick it out on the shores or evacuate to one of the three shelters set up at area schools. In the end, most stayed put, although many moved to higher ground or camped out in their vehicles.

Slowly, order was restored in increments throughout the day. Those stores operating under their own generator power, such as Tamura's Supermarket and Wai'anae Store, were doing booming business. All four lanes on Farrington Highway were open to traffic by midday, except for the hard-hit stretch in Nanakuli, which limped along with one open lane in each direction. Honolulu-bound traffic was backed up for miles, but moving along slowly.

There was plenty of grumbling. But, mostly it was tempered with stoic acceptance.

People were coping, according to Gomes, the Mahalo Express sales clerk.

"Pretty much, everybody's patient," she said.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.