DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
A large tree fell onto Kalanianaole Highway by the polo fields, closing the road in Waimanalo and downing power lines.
Winds batter isles
Neighbor Islands: Problems include electrical failures, choppy harbor waters and blown-off roofs
Schools: Nine sites close for at least part of yesterday, with several staying closed today
High wind across Oahu toppled utility poles and trees yesterday, leaving about 67,000 customers without electricity and isolating Haleiwa for hours because of blocked roads.
As of 9:30 p.m. about 14,000 Oahu customers were without power, mostly in Hawaii Kai and Kuliouou.
Through the day, the Honolulu Fire Department responded to 112 calls of wind damage and 30 calls of electrical wires down, mostly in Wahiawa, Haleiwa, Kaneohe, Kailua and Waimanalo.
Nine public schools and dozens of businesses in Waimanalo, Kailua and Haleiwa were closed at least part of the day. Kailua Intermediate and Castle High schools were to remain closed today.
In addition, four East Oahu schools are closed today: Koko Head, Kamiloiki and Hahaione elementaries and Kaiser High.
Across the street from Kailua Intermediate, half of Annette Murayama's roof shingles blew off yesterday.
"They're shooting across into my pool," said Murayama. "It's terrible. Even with all the hurricanes, I've never encountered this kind of wind. This is the worst."
Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said that most calls to the department involved shingles or other portions of roofs coming off, but at the Fabric Mart, on Kamehameha Highway in Kaneohe, there was a partial roof collapse.
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Annette Murayama, who lives across the street from Kailua Intermediate School on Kainalu Drive, opened her backyard door yesterday to find shingles that had flown off her roof. Also, a 2-square-foot piece of ceiling fell in her house because the rainwater seeped into her attic and soaked her ceiling.
"Whatever is loose on the roof, we try and take off, and if we can't take it off, we try to secure what is left," Tejada said. "We're trying to take away immediate dangers."
The National Weather Service reported a high wind speed of 85 mph at Makua Valley on the Leeward Coast and 65 mph at Wheeler Army Airfield in Wahiawa.
A boater on Kaneohe Bay reported an unconfirmed wind speed of 92 mph, while the Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe reported 60 mph.
In most locations the wind ranged from 30 to 45 mph, said National Weather Service forecaster Norman Hui. The wind came from the southwest, rushing over the tops of Oahu's two mountain ranges, wreaking the most havoc in Wahiawa and on the Windward Coast.
"There's usually some acceleration when the wind is being forced over the mountain," Hui said.
Nine flights leaving Honolulu Airport were delayed for up to 30 minutes, and eight incoming flights were diverted to other Hawaii airports during the height of the wind, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Donn Walker.
The front pushing the wind passed Oahu between 1 and 2 p.m., Hui said, dropping rainfall that ranged from half an inch at the airport to 1.43 inches at Schofield Barracks.
Hui said the weather forecast for the weekend looks "pretty good, with winds variable or very weak trades ... and not much in terms of rain."
Meanwhile, there is a high-surf warning for all north and west shores in the islands, except the Big Island, which has a high-surf advisory.
Oahu Civil Defense volunteers, exhausted from helping direct traffic at closed roads yesterday, were bracing for high surf of up to 35 feet.
But the high winds reduce the likelihood that the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational contest will be held at Waimea Bay today. Event spokeswoman Jodi Young said event organizers are expected to make a final decision this morning.
The longest road closure yesterday was of Kamehameha Highway and Kaukonahua Road between Wahiawa and Haleiwa from midmorning until 5:30 p.m. Police reported 55 to 75 utility poles were down.
Traffic on Kamehameha Highway was expected to be contra-flowed today as Hawaiian Electric Co. crews make repairs.
Matthew Thibeault and his wife, visiting from North Carolina, were among the people stuck in Haleiwa during the road closure.
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Daren Lomboy, 9, left, and Harmozein Kaimana, 10, shared a coat against the rain as they left Keolu Elementary School in Enchanted Lake to go home.
With no cash and little gas, "it was kind of a rough experience," he said. "But rain in Hawaii is better than ice in North Carolina."
Shorter-term closures included Kamehameha Highway at Kahana Bay, which was blocked by a 40-foot tree from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Another temporary closure was caused by a fallen utility pole along Kalanianaole Highway near Bellows Air Force Base in Waimanalo.
Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Jose Dizon said the company planned to work through the night to restore power as rapidly as possible.
City maintenance worker Robert Wilcox estimated his crew had cut 75 trees yesterday morning from Kailua to Waimanalo. State highway crews cleared trees blocking highways.
Oceanic-Time Warner Cable of Hawaii estimated that as many as 39,000 customers were without service, said Operations Vice President Norman Santos. Verizon got no more than an ordinary day's worth of trouble calls, said spokeswoman Ann Nishida.
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN. COM
Firefighters checked a roof in Kailua that was damaged by yesterday's strong wind.
In Haleiwa the Super Market-IGA did booming business on generator power yesterday when the rest of the town was in the dark, said customer service manager Deanne Daves. That was after the store cleared a 75-foot African tulip tree down on its parking lot.
High winds tore wall planks from Haleiwa's Celestial Natural Foods building.
"Boards were flying off," said saleswoman Hiilani St. Germain. "You can see it when you drive by."
At Ace Hardware in Haleiwa, residents were buying batteries, kerosene, lanterns and plywood yesterday, said store supervisor Annie Viena.
At the Infiniti car dealership near Honolulu Airport, a utility pole smashed two cars on the lot and cut off electricity, but no one was injured, said sales manager David Kahawaii.
In Waimanalo the electricity went out at about 11:30 a.m. when two 50-foot-tall trees fell across Kalanianaole Highway near Bellows Air Force Station and onto power lines.
Earlier in the day, high winds toppled the life-size fiberglass horse outside Naturally Hawaiian Gallery and Gifts, said the store's owner, Patrick Ching.
RON VALENCIANA / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN Several power poles lay strewn along Kamehameha Highway outside Wahiawa yesterday as high winds swept through the North Shore, cutting off electricity for several hours. In the background, the Del Monte warehouse also lost several metal wall panels to the powerful gusts.
Most of the stores at Koko Marina Center in Hawaii Kai were left without power and forced to close at about 1 p.m. yesterday.
Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts owner Win Schoneman estimated he lost about 300 sales and thousands of dollars in ice cream.
The Coast Guard reported five or six boats breaking free of moorings in Maui and Kaneohe Bay. When contacted, owners were able to secure the vessels, a spokesman said.
In Kailua, Sharon Indie said she left work to go home and found "my roof was blowing into the street. Thank God for the Fire Department. They anchored it down with 2-by-4s and nailed down the shingles. They were so nice."
The Red Cross visited 10 Oahu families that had roof damage yesterday, but only one in Kailua needed to stay overnight in a hotel, said Chief Operating Officer Cassandra Ely.
Star-Bulletin reporters Mary Vorsino and Leila Fujimori contributed to this story.
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN. COM
Max Callawell tried to hold on to his umbrella during a storm in Kailua yesterday.
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN. COM
City workers cleared a tree from the road in Kailua yesterday.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
George Swain looked out from his Waimanalo Car Quest shop, which had lost electricity but remained open.
