Jessica Else The Garden Island ANAHOLA — The Department of Hawaiian Homelands is looking into a cache of cars abandoned south of Anahola Bay, brought to light by cleanup crews with Surfrider Kauai’s Net Patrol. It’s not the first time
Jessica Else
The Garden Island
ANAHOLA — The Department of Hawaiian Homelands is looking into a cache of cars abandoned south of Anahola Bay, brought to light by cleanup crews with Surfrider Kauai’s Net Patrol.
It’s not the first time DHHL has removed derelict vehicles from the area.
“Last February or something they did a cleanup, and there were 14 cars removed off the beach,” said Scott McCubbins, head of Net Patrol. “It’s a really nice cove and they were right along the sand area.”
Now, about 20 more vehicles have been dumped along the coastline.
“None of them have wheels and flatbed trucks are definitely necessary (for transport),” McCubbins said. “Some are easier to get to than others.”
The stash of vehicles has been building up since the beginning of the year, but McCubbins said within the past month, there’s been an increase in the number of ramshackle remnants dropped along the cove.
So, DHHL is getting involved again and the department is formulating a plan to get a firsthand look at the cars.
“The department staff will visit the site again to assess the current situation,” said Paula Aila, a DHHL spokeswoman.
A timeline for their visit hasn’t been released yet.
In the meantime, Surfrider is taking action by offering to partner with tow truck companies on Kauai to help remove the cars.
The standing offer is $100 per vehicle removed and $150 for the five vehicles that are more difficult to reach. Another goal is to find a way to stop the flow of abandoned vehicles into the cove, though McCubbins said restricting access could be tricky because people fish in that location.
“We have a recycling center,” McCubbins said. “It’s distressing. It’s a mess.”
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