Pāhoa Man Cited for a Second Time for Loitering in Closed Disaster Area

Lava Tree State Monument and Fissure 8. PC: Hawaiʻi DLNR.

A Pāhoa resident has been cited a second time for loitering in the volcano disaster area on Hawaiʻi Island.

Daniel W. Records, 37, was cited on June 29th after he was observed riding a motorcycle toward the entrance of Lava Tree State Monument.  The area has been closed since the onset of the current eruption in May.

Records was also one of five people cited in the same area on June 6, 2018 for loitering under Hawai‘i County code.

DOCARE officers also cited Ano Hanamana, 49, of Pāhoa on July 3, 2018. He was cited after officers observed him walking in the closed disaster area near Papaya Farms Road.

Over the past week the number of citations issued for loitering in closed areas in the East Rift Eruption Zone has dropped.  Officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement have only written two citations in that time, bringing the total since the eruption began in early May to 84.

DOCARE reminds people that under a proclamation issued last month by Governor David Ige, individuals convicted of violating HCC 7-10(1) could face penalties of up to $5,000 in fines and a year in jail. In support of Hawai‘i County Police and the Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Agency, DOCARE is continuing patrols in closed areas which include Lava Tree State Monument and MacKenzie State Recreation Area, both of which are under the jurisdiction of the DLNR Division of State Parks.