UPDATES: High Winds Knock Out Power for Island of Lānaʻi

January 23, 2017, 4:54 AM HST
* Updated January 24, 3:50 PM

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UPDATE: 2:48 p.m., 1.24.17, Maui Electric crews restore power to Lāna‘i

Lāna‘i island is back online as Maui Electric crews finished repairs and restored the remaining 125 customers in the Mānele area as of 2:48 p.m. today.

“With the help from partners like Pūlama Lāna‘i and the support of the Lāna‘i community, our crews worked as quickly as possible to restore power after Saturday’s windstorm wreaked havoc on the island’s electrical system,” said Sharon Suzuki, president of Maui Electric. “Crews made great progress this morning as they finished up the last of the repairs to restore our remaining Mānele area customers. A sincere mahalo to the Lāna‘i community for their patience and understanding.”

Additional Maui Electric crews were flown in by helicopter to Lāna‘i to help repair the 19 utility poles that were damaged by high winds last weekend. Repairs involved replacing all of the damaged 45-to-50 foot tall poles, resetting new ones and then restringing about a mile of lines along Kaumalapau Highway to Miki Basin and cross-country to Mānele Bay. The poles carry two main feeders that provide power to Lāna‘i island.

UPDATE: 11:30 a.m. 1.24.17, Power Restoration to Mānele Expected Later this Evening

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As of 11:30 a.m., Maui Electric crews continue to make progress in the Mānele area and estimate power restoration to all 125 Mānele customers by later this evening.

Crews have been working as quickly as possible to safely restore power after a windstorm caused extensive damage to the island’s electrical system last weekend. The gusty winds damaged 19 utility poles carrying two main feeders that provide power to Lāna‘i residents.

UPDATE: 12:43 a.m. 1.24.17, Maui Electric restores power to Lāna‘i City

As of 12:43 a.m., Maui Electric crews have restored power to all 1,575 Lāna‘i City customers after a windstorm caused extensive damage to the island’s electrical system over the weekend.

Currently, about 125 customers in the Mānele area remain without power. Crews will continue repairs in the Mānele area today, Jan. 24, 2017.

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UPDATE : 9 p.m. 1.23.17, Maui Electric crews still on track to restore Lāna‘i City later this evening

As of 9 p.m., Maui Electric crews remain on track to restore 1,575 Lanai customers late this evening. All 125 Manele area customers will need to prepare for an overnight outage.

Maui Electric thanks the Lanai community for their continued patience as our crews are working as quickly as possible to restore power.

Repairs involve replacing all of the 19 damaged 45-to-50 foot tall poles, resetting new ones and then restringing about a mile of lines along Kaumalapau Highway to Miki Basin and cross-country to Mānele Bay.

UPDATE: 4 p.m. Jan. 23, 2017:

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Maui Electric crews on track to restore Lāna‘i City later this evening

Maui Electric response crews are in the process of restringing lines in Lāna‘i City and are on track to restore 1,575 customers on Lāna‘i later this evening.

Crews are now also working in the Mānele area, and while crews are hoping to restore the Mānele area later tonight, all 125 customers in the Mānele area should prepare for a possible overnight outage.

“Safely restoring service to our Lāna‘i community is a top priority as our crews have been working around the clock to bring everyone back online as soon as possible,” said Sharon Suzuki, president of Maui Electric. “With an additional team flown in this morning to further expedite our restoration efforts, we thank the Lāna‘i community for their continued patience and understanding.”

UPDATE: 12:32 p.m. Jan. 23, 2017

Crews Make Progress on Lānaʻi Restorations

With an additional Maui Electric crew flown in by helicopter to Lānaʻi this morning, power restoration efforts progress with work replacing the 19 utility poles that were damaged by high winds last weekend.

All 1,700 customers remain without power as of this morning.

Crews hope to restore Lānaʻi City by this evening with Mānele to follow.

Currently, crews are working on the last of the 10 poles on the Lānaʻi City circuit before they start to restring the lines. They will then work toward Mānele to repair the remaining nine poles.

UPDATE: 9:47 p.m. January 22, 2017

The Department of Education announced the closure of Lānaʻi High & Elementary School for Monday, Jan. 23, 2017.

Representatives with Maui Electric said they anticipated having power restored to Lānaʻi City by around mid-day on Monday.

Overnight, high winds continued to impact Maui County.

High winds knocked out power for the island of Lānaʻi and downed Hawaiian Telcom lines.

Maui Electric advised that the public should plan for extended outages. Cell phone service on the island is operational and the public is encouraged to conserve battery power for emergency calls.

Residents who may not be able to call 911 can text emergencies to 911 from their cell phones.

Ferry service and flights are currently operational to Lānaʻi. Flights were cancelled on Saturday due to high winds.

9:38 p.m. January 22, 2017

Lānaʻi customers please prepare for continued overnight outage

All Lanai customers are being asked to prepare for a continued overnight outage this evening. Maui Electric crews made progress and are hoping to restore Lānaʻi.

UPDATE: 6:53 p.m. January 22, 2017

Electrical service has been restored to all customers in the Kāʻanapali resort area after a suspected ” short” caused by high winds.

4 P.M. 1.22.17 UPDATE: Progress made in restoration efforts

Lānaʽi remains without power, windstorm damage across state most extensive in years

In the aftermath of powerful windstorms that swept through the state on Saturday, Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric and Hawai’i Electric Light crews continuetheir work today to restore service.

Winds remain gusty across the islands today and more outages are likely.

According to preliminary assessments, damage to electrical equipment from the windstorms was some of the most widespread in years, affecting customers on each of the five islands served by Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric and Hawai’i Electric Light.

Presently, all 1,700 customers on Lānaʽi are without power and are being asked to plan for an extended outage as crews work to safely restore power.

On Oʽahu, there were more than 100 separate outages in the past 24 hours, affecting about 100,000 customers. At 4 p.m. Sunday, about 3,000 customers remained without power, including about 1,300 in Pauoa, 1,200 in Waiʽanae and Mākaha and 300 in Mānoa.

There are also about 10 localized outages in neighborhoods across the island and a number of individual customers without power.

High winds continue to challenge aerial inspections and potential repairs of high-voltage transmission lines over mountains.

Those inspections and repairs will not take place until Monday at the earliest.
After high winds snapped or damaged 19 utility poles on Lānaʽi yesterday, Maui Electric crews made progress in their repairs and are hoping to restore Lānaʽi City later tonight and the Mānelearea by Monday night.

On Maui, crews are working to restore about 129 customers in pockets of Upcountry Maui and Paia.

On Molokaʽi, Hawaiʽi Electric Light crews are assisting Maui Electric with the restoration of power to a radio tower. Currently no other customers are out.

Hawai’i island experienced scattered outages caused by branches in lines, affecting about 7,500 customers over the past 24 hours. The largest outage was in the Waimea-Kawaihae area affecting about 2,700 customers Saturday night. All customers on the island have been restored.

Customers are reminded to stay away from downed power lines since they could be energized and are extremely dangerous.
When lines from a utility pole fall to the ground, touch a guardrail or land on a car, please
remember:
 Don’t touch the lines. Stay away from downed power lines – at least 30 feet or more.
 Report downed lines immediately by calling Hawaiian Electric’s Trouble Line; the number is 1-855-304-1212, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
 If you see someone injured after touching a downed power line, call 9-1-1 for help.
o Don’t try to rescue the person because electrical current can travel through them to you and you risk becoming a victim yourself.
o Warn others to stay away
 Always assume downed power lines are energized and dangerous.
 A downed line touching a fence or guard rail can energize it for several thousand yards and pose a hazard to anyone coming into contact with these structures. Don’t run away; instead, keep your legs together and shuffle away with both feet on the ground to a safe distance (30 feet or more).
 If a power line falls on your car while you are inside, follow these instructions:
o Remain where you are, if possible, and call and wait for help
o If you must get out of the car because of a fire or other hazard, jump free of the
car, hopping with both feet together so that your body clears the vehicle before
touching the ground.
o Once you clear the car, shuffle at least 30 feet away, with both feet on the
ground.
 Never step down or simultaneously touch the ground and equipment that is in contact with the power line, as this will increase the risk of electrical shock.

UPDATE : 1:14 p.m. 1.22.17

Maui Electric crews continue restoration efforts on Lanai, pockets on Maui

Presently, all 1,700 customers on Lānaʽi continue to be without power and are being asked to plan for an extended outage as crews work to safely restore power.

After high winds snapped or damaged 19 utility poles on Lānaʽi yesterday, Maui Electric crews are continuing restoration efforts today. The estimated time of restoration for Lānaʽi City is by 11 p.m. tonight, with the Manele area to follow by Monday evening.

On Maui, crews are working to restore about 560 customers in pockets of Upcountry Maui and Paia.

On Molokaʽi, Hawaiʽi Electric Light crews will arrive later today to assist Maui Electric with the restoration of power to a radio tower. Currently no other customers are out.

Customers are reminded to stay away from downed power lines since they could be energized and are extremely dangerous. Please report any outages, and/or downed power lines and poles, to our 24-7 Trouble Lines: Maui: 871-7777 and Molokai and Lanai: 1-877-871-8461.

For customers who may experience an extended outage, Maui Electric offers the following food safety tips:

During a power outage, a fully-stocked free-standing freezer will keep most of your foods frozen for up to seventy-two hours — if you don’t open the door! Don’t peek inside to see if the food is still frozen…each time you open the door, cold air gets out.
The freezer section of a refrigerator-freezer will keep most of your foods frozen ten to twenty-four hours. Try not to open the freezer door during an outage as you’ll let the cold air escape.
If power restoration is taking longer than anticipated, put some dry ice in the freezer. Always use gloves or tongs when handling it. Dry ice can be placed directly on top of your foods. Remember, dry ice cools foods below it.
After the power is restored, you can refreeze most your food items that still have ice crystals remaining, but try to consume these foods as soon as possible.
After the power has been restored check your foods and immediately cook foods that have thawed out, but are still cold. Dispose of any food that has an off color or odd odor, or perishable foods that have warmed to room temperature for an unknown length of time.
Here are some guidelines for food safety — butter, margarine, and hard cheeses are safe unless mold or rancid odors develop. Fresh fruits and vegetables are safe as long as they aren’t mushy or slimy. Eggs will be safe for several days if the shells have no cracks. Fresh meat, poultry, luncheon meats or hot-dogs should be discarded if allowed to warm to room temperature for more than two hours. Milk and cream probably will sour after eight hours without refrigeration. Vinegar and oil salad dressings, jellies, jams, mustard, pickles, and olives may be safely kept UN-refrigerated unless they have been contaminated by poultry or meat juices.

When in doubt, throw it out!

UPDATE: 1:05 p.m. 1.22.17

In the aftermath of powerful windstorms that swept through the state on Saturday, Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric and Hawai’i Electric Light crews continue their work today to restore service to thousands of customers who remain without power.

Winds remain gusty across the islands today and more outages are likely.

Presently, all 1,700 customers on Lānaʽi are without power and are being asked to plan for an extended outage as crews work to safely restore power.

On Oʽahu, there were more than 100 separate outages in the past 24 hours, affecting about 100,000 customers. All but about 1,900 in Palolo had been restored by this morning and there are still dozens of localized outages across the island, including in Mākaha, Wai`anae, Wahiawa, Mānoa and Kalihi.

On Maui, crews are working to restore about 560 customers in pockets of Upcountry Maui and Paia.

On Molokaʽi, Hawaiʽi Electric Light crews will arrive later today to assist Maui Electric with the restoration of power to a radio tower. Currently no other customers are out.

Customers are reminded to stay away from downed power lines since they could be energized and are extremely dangerous.

When lines from a utility pole fall to the ground, touch a guardrail or land on a car, please remember:

Don’t touch the lines. Stay away from downed power lines – at least 30 feet or more.
Report downed lines immediately by calling Hawaiian Electric’s Trouble Line; the number is 1-855-304-1212, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you see someone injured after touching a downed power line, call 9-1-1 for help.
- Don’t try to rescue the person because electrical current can travel through them to you and you risk becoming a victim yourself.
- Warn others to stay away
Always assume downed power lines are energized and dangerous.
A downed line touching a fence or guard rail can energize it for several thousand yards and pose a hazard to anyone coming into contact with these structures. Don’t run away; instead, keep your legs together and shuffle away with both feet on the ground to a safe distance (30 feet or more).
If a power line falls on your car while you are inside, follow these instructions:
- Remain where you are, if possible, and call and wait for help
- If you must get out of the car because of a fire or other hazard, jump free of the car, hopping with both feet together so that your body clears the vehicle before touching the ground.
- Once you clear the car, shuffle at least 30 feet away, with both feet on the ground.

Never step down or simultaneously touch the ground and equipment that is in contact with the power line, as this will increase the risk of electrical shock.

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High winds continue to impact Maui County. Motorists are encouraged to monitor the weather and stay off roads if need be.

High winds have knocked out power for the island of Lanai and Hawaiian Telcom lines are down as well. The public should plan for extended outages. Cell phone service on the island is operational, the public is encouraged to conserve battery power for emergency calls. Residents who may not be able to call 911 can text emergencies to 911 from their cell phones.

Ferry service and flights are currently operational to Lanai. Flights were canceled yesterday due to high winds.