High winds knock out power, force road closures
Two boats broke from their moorings and thousands of customers lost power around Maui as high winds and heavy rains buffeted the island on Wednesday.
Hawaiian Electric crews restored power to about 5,500 customers “who experienced outages in parts of Haiku, Upcountry, Kihei and Wailuku at various times of the day due to the gusty and wet conditions,” said Shayna Decker, Hawaiian Electric’s director of government and community affairs for Maui County.
As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, crews were working to restore power to fewer than 100 remaining customers in pockets of Upcountry and Wailuku, Decker said.
Issues with downed lines and traffic signals also caused some road closures around the island on Wednesday.
Downed power lines forced the closure of Hua Place and Walaka Street in Kihei early Wednesday morning. Walaka Street reopened before 7 a.m., though Hua Place was still blocked off, the county reported.
At 9 a.m., a downed traffic signal on Kaahumanu Avenue closed the Wailuku-bound lanes between Kanaloa and South Papa Avenue. Crews were still working at the intersection at around 4 p.m.
The strong winds also caused two boats to break loose from moorings overnight on Maui, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said Wednesday morning.
One 45-foot vessel grounded about 50 yards from the breakwall outside Lahaina Harbor. The owner has insurance and is in touch with his carrier, DLNR said. Salvage is expected to begin today.
A 30-foot sailing vessel also broke from its mooring and ended up 30 yards off the breakwater from 1403 Front St. in Lahaina.
DLNR said there were unconfirmed reports of additional groundings elsewhere around Maui.
The incidents came shortly after state officials and salvage crews hauled a 94-foot grounded luxury yacht from the reef at Honolua Bay and towed it out to sea before it sank about 3 miles offshore.
The DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation advised mariners Wednesday to take steps to ensure their vessels are secure.
The National Weather Service had warned of 25 to 35 mph winds with gusts over 50 mph as a strong cold front swept east
across the state. A wind advisory for all islands expires at 12 a.m. today, and a high wind warning for the summit of Haleakala, which was expected to see winds of 55 to 65 mph with higher gusts, is in effect until 6 a.m.
North-facing shores of Maui and Molokai and west-facing shores of Molokai continue to be under a high surf warning through 6 p.m. today, with dangerously large waves of 35 to 50 feet in the forecast due to a peaking northwest swell and strong westerly winds, the National Weather Service said.
The weather service warned the public to stay away from the affected shorelines, be prepared for road closures and postpone entering or leaving channels affected by high surf.
Heavy rains also pelted the island Wednesday, particularly in Central and Upcountry Maui, with 3.63 inches recorded at the Puu Kukui gauge and 2.08 inches at the Kula Branch Station over a 24-hour period ending at 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to the weather service. Another 1.79 inches fell on the Pukalani rain gauge, while 1.38 inches were logged at the Wailuku gauge.