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By Barry Markowitz, special to the Star-Bulletin
Emergency vehicles block Kamehameha Highway in
Kaaawa late this morning after a rotten utility pole,
right, snapped.

Power line falls
near propane tank;
area evacuated

The accident injures
one person, leaves
Kaaawa without power,
closes Kamehameha Highway

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Star-Bulletin

A fallen power line on Kamehameha Highway near the Crouching Lion Inn this morning injured one person, caused the evacuation of the nearby area, left Kaaawa without electricity and briefly forced police to close the two-lane highway.

The area was evacuated after a utility pole broke and fell about 10:45 a.m. Police said the electric lines were hanging over a nearby propane tank.

The injured person, an adult male resident, was taken by medevac helicopter to a hospital with a broken leg, according to Police Sgt. Mason Kuaiwa.

The cause of the accident was a rotten pole, said Likelike Davis, communications consultant for Hawaiian Electric.

By Barry Markowitz, special to the Star-Bulletin
Police evacuated the Kaaawa area this afternoon after a
utility pole snapped and fell near a propane tank, left.

Nearly all customers in the area had power restored shortly after 1 p.m., Davis said, but the Crouching Lion was expected to remain without power until the pole could be repaired, possibly this evening.

Firefighters were called, but no fires were reported.