HANALEI — Sherman Maka drove his regular commute on Thursday’s rainy morning just after 6 a.m. from Haena to Hanalei Gourmet, where he manages the restaurant.
And at that point, just a few small rocks were falling across Kuhio Highway at mile marker 6. But soon, another landslide in that area would close the road — again.
“It was just small-kine rocks,” he said as he was closing Hanalei Gourmet for business Thursday morning because of heavy rain and lack of customers. “I made it through.”
The highway between Wainiha and Lumahai was reopened about 12:50 p.m., but for a few hours, cars lined Kuhio Highway waiting to get to places like Ke‘e Beach.
At 9 a.m., officials guarding the road said rocks were still falling from the hillside.
Many chose to turn around and head back to Hanalei, where restaurant and business owners were watching the clouds and wondering if Kuhio Highway at Hanalei Bridge was going to close.
“I just had a guy about 10 minutes ago hear about the road maybe closing and he tore out of the parking lot to try and make it back across,” said Ian Cowden, a sales associate at Hanalei Surf Company. “The river is high, but I’ve seen it higher. It might close though.”
Many who fled Hanalei prior to the possible road closure ended up in the Princeville Shopping Center, meandering through and waiting for restaurants to open.
In the past four weeks, due to heavy rains that have pounded Kauai, there have been five landslides on the North Shore, one that took two days to completely clear and stranded residents. The Hanalei Bridge has been closed several times. Hanalei School closed twice and has been used several times as a Red Cross emergency shelter.
It’s all adding up to make travel to the North Shore during this rainy season a bit of a roll of the dice. Once you get out there, how long might you be stuck?
And some North Shore residents can never be quite sure they’ll be able to get to work if roads or bridges close.
Thursday’s landslide was cleared within hours. One near the Wainiha Bridge last Friday night took a day. The Hawaii Department of Transportation used contraflow when it could while the highway was cleared, but traffic still backed up for miles.
For some, it’s worth the potential risk in order to accomplish their goals, as is the case for many of the customers that were at Hanalei Surf Company Thursday morning.
“We were planning on going to the beach today,” said Amy Head, who is on the second day of vacation with her husband Brian, from Mississippi. “But that’s not going to happen.”
Photography and ocean activities are on the priority list for Brian and Amy. They’re hoping the sun cooperates while they are here for the next week.
“The rain actually helps us, because when it’s raining people will shop instead of going to the beach,” Cowden said.
When Kuhio Highway closes by Hanalei Bridge, it closes access routs in and out of the town. As of 4 p.m. Thursday, the road remained open.
On the other side of the bridge, a power surge about 10:30 a.m. in Princeville triggered a series of partial power outages throughout the Princeville Shopping Center, forcing late openings for most of the restaurants.
“We had a breaker trip up there and a troubleshooter is looking for the problem,” said Beth Tokioka, spokeswoman for Kauai Island Utility Cooperative.
By 4 p.m., KIUC troubleshooters discovered the culprit was an underground cable fault. The cables were replaced and power was restored.
When the road does close, Maka said the feeling in Hanalei is reminiscent of the past.
He said it’s a nice change from the hustle and bustle of present-day Hanalei and neighbors often get together for barbecues and take advantage of places that are usually packed with tourists.
“I was born and raised in Haena for 57 years,” he said. “When the road closes, it goes back to the way it was in the ‘60s and ‘70s, where you get one car every three hours. You just sit out here and watch.”
