CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Dennis Gasper worked on his fishing line yesterday at Kaaawa Beach. He and his family spent the day relaxing and fishing at the beach after high surf pounded the area earlier in the weekend.
Brooms come out
as waves come
down to size
High surf subsided yesterday after two days of battering east- and north-facing shores, forcing residents from homes and closing beaches and roads.
Lifeguards reopened Hanauma Bay and Makapuu Beach after the surf decreased.
"It's smaller than the last two days," said Lt. Dwight Perkins, of the Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division.
"There is still surf out there. It's still dangerous, and we want people who are not experienced surfers and bodyboarders to use extreme caution and don't go beyond their limits," Perkins said.
The islands endured high surf Friday and Saturday that flooded and damaged homes and displaced a number of residents.
A high-surf advisory replaced a high-surf warning for east-facing shores for all islands yesterday morning, according to the National Weather Service. A high-surf advisory for north-facing shores was canceled yesterday.
The National Weather Service also issued a small-craft advisory that remained in effect for north-facing shores for all islands.
Surf on the north- and east-facing shores was expected to be between 8 and 10 feet with occasional 12-foot waves, said Jonathan Hoag, forecaster at the National Weather Service in Honolulu. Hoag said the high surf that pounded the islands Friday and Saturday was due to low pressure to the northeast of the state. He added that conditions were expected to continue to weaken yesterday and lower to 5- to 8-foot waves today.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Skip Hewett and his grandson, Brad, raked leaves and picked up rocks left from the high surf yesterday at their Kaaawa oceanside home.
Perkins said Makapuu still had some 6- to 8-foot sets yesterday -- a drop from the 18-foot peak on Friday and Saturday.
"It was about a third of what it was in the last two days," he said. Beachgoers also had a chance to snorkel at Hanauma Bay yesterday after murky waters cleared up.
Perkins warned people to stay away from the cliffs facing east shores due to the surf.
High surf early yesterday morning forced the closure of Kamehameha Highway between Kualoa Beach Park and Hauula Homestead Road, according to state Transportation Department spokesman Scott Ishikawa. The roadway was closed from 2:30 to 10 a.m. due to high surf, sand and debris that swept over the highway. Crew members from the Oahu Civil Defense and the Transportation Department continued to monitor the surf throughout the day, Ishikawa said.
On the Big Island, east shore beaches from the Kapoho Lighthouse to North Kohala remain closed, according to Capt. John Kapsky, of Ocean Safety for East Hawaii.
Waves destroyed six houses on the Big Island Friday and forced more than 100 to seek shelter elsewhere. American Red Cross spokeswoman Cassandra Ely said a shelter for the displaced residents is expected to remain open until Wednesday.
Surf conditions on the Big Island slightly dropped to 10- to 12-foot waves yesterday from 10- to 15-foot waves on Saturday.
"The ocean is settling down," said Kapsky. A few crew members started to clean up the debris yesterday.
There were tree stumps that were uprooted from the shoreline and sand pockets that got washed away, Kapsky said. He added that a full crew is expected to clean up today.
Police said beaches on the north- and east-facing shores of Kauai have reopened. Maui continued to have high surf yesterday, but no beaches or roads were closed because of the waves.
