JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM A fallen tree closed the parking lot of Wahiawa District Park yesterday. This week's foul weather has taken a toll on Oahu's power and cable lines as well.

HECO struggling to patch up network

Hawaiian Electric Co. planned to work through the night on power failures affecting about 650 customers scattered islandwide.

The speed at which power is being restored has slowed because the reasons for the failures vary widely and have to be addressed on a case-by-case basis, said Lynne Unemori, HECO vice president for corporate relations.

Crews have to assess the situation, get the proper repair materials and deal with ongoing wind gusts and rain, she said.

Peter Rosegg, HECO spokesman, said yesterday, "We're hoping most of them will be back tomorrow. There may be some that could be without power until Sunday or Monday."

Meanwhile, a landslide closed Kolekole Pass Road in Waianae yesterday afternoon, military officials said. No one was injured in the incident, which happened shortly before 3 p.m., said city Department of Emergency Management spokesman John Cummings III.

Leeward residents had been using the road this week as an alternate route after fallen power lines forced lane closures on Farrington Highway. All four lanes of Farrington Highway reopened at about the same time as the landslide, Cummings said.

HECO reported a few houses or portions of neighborhoods remained without power last night in:

» Waialua, Haleiwa and Waimea on the North Shore.

» Laie, Hauula, Kahana and Waimanalo on the Windward side.

» Hawaii Kai, Kahala, Waikiki, Waipahu and Ewa Beach on the South Shore.

» Kunia, Wahiawa, Aiea, Pearl City, Moanalua, Makiki, Nuuanu and Palolo in the central and south-central areas of the island.

» Nanakuli and Maili on the Leeward coast.

A new outage yesterday afternoon for 750 Nanakuli customers lasted from 4 to 5:30 p.m., HECO spokesman Darren Pai said. The failure was unrelated to blown-down poles, which have all been replaced with new, larger poles, he said.

At the YMCA's Camp Erdman, on the North Shore, the 25 staffers who live there have been treating the almost four days without electricity as "a new adventure," said Barry Welch, a YMCA conference director.

The American Red Cross reported that 53 families on Oahu were affected by the storm.

City spokesman Bill Brennan said yesterday that crews responded to 200 of the 450 calls about trees or limbs down at city parks or along city streets.

A number of city park facilities and golf courses were closed yesterday and might be closed again today depending on conditions including Kapiolani Park fields, Ala Wai Community Park fields and Central Oahu Regional Park baseball and softball fields.