ʻOheʻo Pools to Close Tuesday to Service Monitoring Equipment

Pool at ʻOheʻo Gulch. Image courtesy Haleakalā National Park.

By Wendy Osher

The ʻOheʻo Stream in the Kīpahulu section of Haleakalā National Park in East Maui will be closed beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014, while crews service monitoring equipment.

Park officials made the announcement on Monday saying the section of stream along the Pīpīwai Trail will be closed for several days during the work period.

The stream had been closed for more than a month earlier this year following storm conditions in April and continued flooding that damaged equipment in the area. It was reopened in May following completion of repairs.

According to park policy, the stream is closed as a safety precaution when flash flooding occurs, or if the monitoring system is offline or becomes non-functional and flood levels cannot be determined, authorities said in a previous announcement.

The stream monitoring equipment consists of a series of sensors located along several miles of the Palikea and ʻOheʻo streams in East Maui.

“The sensors track water levels and rainfall and the system sounds an alarm in the Kīpahulu Visitor Center when flash flood conditions are possible. The triggering of the alarm signals heightened flood potential and results in closing of the pools to visitors,” park officials said in a press release.

“Visitors are advised to abide by posted ‘stream closed‘ signs and the direction of park staff. Injuries and fatalities have resulted from visitors entering closed areas,” said Polly Angelakis, chief of interpretation and education at Haleakalā National Park in the announcement.