200 volunteers help Anahola clean up

ANAHOLA — Michael Curnett lives on the Westside. He doesn’t know the people in Anahola whose homes and property were swamped by last weekend’s biblical flooding.

Yet he was there Saturday morning, wielding a chainsaw, cutting up logs and other debris that littered the land, so it would easier to remove.

“I heard it was bad out here,” he said. “So I wanted to go and pitch in and help out.”

Curnett was one of about 200 volunteers who showed up for a community cleanup in one of the area’s hammered by the storm that dumped relentless rain on Kauai.

He looked around at the men and women, wearing shirts and jeans covered with mud from their efforts, and shook his head, almost in disbelief.

“I think it’s amazing we got so many,” he said. “It speaks a lot for the community and the ohana that just is Kauai island.”

The turnout of an army of volunteers was a beautiful sight for homeowners. They arrived in trucks, SUVs, compacts and even motorcycles. They came with shovels and chainsaws and rakes and trash bags and gloves.

And after a prayer and blessing, they went to work. They cleaned, they carried, they hauled, they strained and lifted, and then they went back for more. Others operated heavy equipment to pile logs and boulders together.

Every few minutes, a truck filled with debris rolled away, and every few minutes, a pickup with a handful of people in the back rolled in.

“It’s an incredible outpouring of people wanting to help other people,” said Jim White, a volunteer. “People just keep showing up, perfect strangers showing up asking, ‘What can I do?’”

White paused, then added, “It’s just heartwarming to see these people.”

Donated food kept arriving, too, to keep those folks fed.

This went on across much of the North Shore — Wainiha, Haena, Hanalei — where homes were destroyed, roads washed out, vehicles overturned and landslides blocked the highway. Gov. David Ige declared the island a disaster area.

Last week, the call went out for help on Saturday, and many answered that call. From private property to public beaches, they came with strong backs and even stronger spirits.

Nicole Baier and Julie Lester arrived with their truck and ready to work. They made numerous dump runs, back and forth, almost all morning.

“These people are in major need,” Lester said.

The weather — finally some sunshine to help dry things out — brought good cheer.

“I don’t know about you but we’re ready for the sunshine,” Lester said, smiling. “We’re very thankful for the sun.”

Rebecca Indvik is one of the homeowners in Anahola overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of so many people who wanted to help her and her neighbors.

She and her husband, Kurt, bought the home two years ago when they moved here from California.

“You know the picture of the gray car in the ocean? That’s mine,” she said, laughing.

That Jeep Renegade was parked under her house before floodwaters took it away. Another neighbor lost four cars, and another lost one.

“The water came so fast,” she said.

That Saturday night seemed fairly usual, at first. But later, she turned to her husband and said, “Something’s wrong.”

They looked outside to see water all the way to the first landing, about halfway on the stilts that raise their home some 15 feet from the ground.

The floodwaters, carrying albizia trees toward their home, were stopped short when they got stuck on another large tree still standing.

“It literally saved our house,” she said. “We were so lucky.”

Their downstairs suffered water damage and they lost equipment and other property, but were otherwise OK. Their car was covered by insurance. The house was insured, but not for flood damage.

Rebecca Indvik said what was most important is that no one was hurt. Others on the North Shore endured far worse than they did, she added.

“Stuff, you can replace,” she said.

Having so many show up, she said, was unbelievable. The surrounding land was covered with logs, debris and boulders left behind by the storm.

“The best thing is the people that are hauling and taking the debris,” she said. “It’s just been going all day.”

The Indviks knew Anahola could and would flood when they bought the property.

“But not to this extent,” she said.

Another Anahola homeowner, Devin Ruiz, flew into Lihue the night of the storm and arrived home to enjoy dinner with friends.

There was thunder and lightning on that Saturday, but no rain.

Later, though, a neighbor called.

“Move your car,” she said. “The flood is coming.”

Ruiz quickly knocked on the door of his tenant, told him to do likewise. Others downriver were getting get their vehicles out, as well.

When the waters rose, “the entire valley was just a river,” he said. “It was pretty scary. We didn’t know how high the water was going to come.”

The river came to within a few steps of the lanai to his home, some 15 feet high, on stilts. His home was OK. The property, not so much.

But Saturday’s turnout of volunteers was making a big difference in clearing the land.

“This is absolutely amazing,” he said. “I mean, what a community. It’s hard to believe so many people came out for this. Everyone I know is volunteering somewhere.”

Like Indvik, Ruiz said what mattered was that no one was hurt.

“It’s absolutely a beautiful community and people are just doing this because they want to help. They don’t know us. They don’t care. They just want to help.”

Ruiz bought the property in October, also knowing that at some point it could flood.

“Now I know,” he said with a smile.

Kenny Elledge was sitting on a downed tree on the property, taking a lunch break from the cleanup. He’s lived in Anahola six months.

Early Sunday morning of the flood, he and his wife, with their neighbor’s help, fled their home with their three children as the water rushed underneath it and things began floating away.

They returned that afternoon.

“It’s incredible the devastation and the amount of debris that water moved so quickly,” he said.

The massive cleanup operation, Elledge said, was remarkable.

“It’s about doing what’s right for our neighbors and showing them love,” said Elledge, who is the pastor at Anahola Baptist Church.

“So many people out like this is encouraging,” he said. “It’s something we need these days. To see this, not everybody is enemies because of their political positions.”

It was all about people lending a hand to each other, he said.

“I think it brings us to what’s really most important, it kind of brings us back to it,” Elledge said. “To see these people, it’s a joy for me and I’m glad to be part of it.”

Josiah Jurich of Kapahi helped direct operation of the heavy machinery. He didn’t know the people whose property he was cleaning, but he was glad to be there.

“I felt it was my responsibility to help out my neighbors,” he said.

He expected a small turnout Saturday, and was surprised to see so many.

Surprised, and delighted, too.

“It’s encouraging to know people can get together like that. I don’t think we see that everywhere these days,” he said. “It’s good to see. It shows the goodness in people. It’s there, in everyone, and this brings it out.”

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Bill Buley, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 245-0457 or bbuley@thegardenisland.com