Sacred Falls’
future debatedResidents’ input and a risk
assessment will help the state
decide if it should reopen
Several Hauula-area residents said last night that the state should reopen Sacred Falls State Park, closed since 1999 after a deadly rockslide.
"We feel it should be open, especially to us local people, so we can teach our grandchildren about Hawaiian culture," said John Pascual at a meeting at the Hauula Community Center.
About 50 residents attended the first "talk story" session last night held by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources about the future of Sacred Falls. On Mother's Day 1999, a rockslide killed eight people and injured 50 others in the valley. The park has been closed since.
"Sacred Falls is sacred and I don't think it should be opened up if there's nobody around to say what you can do or can't do," said Pascual's wife, Dannette, whose family has lived in the Windward Oahu community for generations.
Two days before the rockslide, Pascual's grandchildren made a trip up the valley and reported to her that visitors were leaving rubbish and graffiti there.
The Pascuals said they believe that with caution about the risks and responsibilities of going into the valley, some access should be allowed.
Children might ask "where is the home of Kamapua'a?" said Peter Mainaaupo, referring to the pig demigod who courted the volcano goddess Pele in Hawaiian legend. "We'd like to teach them where he lives."
State consultant Oceanit has a $240,000 contract to provide the department with a master plan and a risk assessment of the 1,376-acre ahupuaa that has been a state park since 1977.
Those documents, when complete, and the input of state residents will help the state decide whether to reopen it, and if so, how.
Families of those killed in the accident successfully sued the state, alleging that warning signs at the park weren't explicit enough about the dangers in the valley. The state is appealing the verdict.
State officials are floating the idea of making the upper reaches of the valley a natural area reserve, a limited-access designation for high-quality natural areas. They are also talking about making the lower part of the valley a forest reserve area, instead of a park.
"There is no predetermined outcome," Board of Land and Natural Resources Chairman Peter Young said of the community meetings on the park's future.
"Some believe it should never be opened to human life again. Others believe it should be open to anyone," Young said. "Obviously it's a sensitive issue. We don't want to put people in harm's way."
