8 a.m. update: Power restored to 80% of customers who experienced outages overnight

Hundreds of Hawaiian Electric employees and contractors are working to restore power to customers across Oʻahu, Maui County and Hawaiʻi Island after strong winds knocked down trees and utility poles and blew debris into power lines. Since last night, more than 80% of customers who were without electricity have since been restored.

Gusts of 35 miles per hour and higher have been recorded in Maui and Hawaiʻi Island areas, hampering restoration efforts. Crews are forced to suspend work whenever it is not safe to continue, such as when wind gusts 30 mph or higher make it dangerous to raise the hydraulic boom of a utility bucket truck.

As of 7:30 a.m. on:

• Hawaiʻi Island: Crews restored service to about 1,100 customers in Kurtistown who lost power due to a motor vehicle accident. This morning, crews are working to complete repairs and restore power to the remaining impacted customers in Mountain View. About 150 customers are currently without power in the Kaumana area of Hilo due to a fallen tree.
• Maui: Crews are repairing a broken pole and downed lines in the Pi‘iholo, Upcountry area to restore about 230 customers and are also responding to other pocket outages. Around 6:45 a.m. today, crews restored power to about 960 customers in parts of Makawao who were out overnight due to strong winds and heavy rain that brought down a pole and power lines.
• Lāna‘i: About 1,150 customers were brought back online overnight after a tree branch made contact with power lines.
• Moloka‘i: Crews restored power to about 300 customers in Kaluako‘i, Moloka‘i after making repairs to a damaged utility pole.
• Oʻahu: Around 6 a.m. this morning, crews restored power in Enchanted Lake. Crews continue to work to restore power to about 1,330 customers in various areas across the island.

With the National Weather Service high wind advisory remaining in effect until 6 p.m., the company urges customers to stay prepared for potential extended power outages.