Kihei Pole Fire Temporarily Downs 911 Lines
By Wendy Osher
Emergency 911 lines on Maui were out of service for about an hour on Sunday as the result of a fire in Kihei that damaged Hawaiian Telcom fiberoptic lines.
Maui Police Lt. Wayne Ibarra said service was restored at around 5:15 p.m. Crews continued repairs into the night to fix service for cell and internet customers.
The fire was reported at around 2:43 p.m. to a power pole at the Liloa and Waipuilani intersection in Kihei.
Fire officials say the top of the pole was on fire between the power line and the fiber optic cable.
Maui Fire Capt. Brandy Lee said the fire burned through and severed the fiber optic line. He said the high voltage line had to be disconnected so that crews could put water on the pole to douse the fire.
Fire crews from Engine 6 in Kihei remained on scene until 5:40 p.m.