Except for a handful of Verizon customers without telephone service whose service was expected to be restored yesterday, things rapidly returned to normal on Kaua’i a day after high winds and heavy rains created havoc and brought back memories of
Except for a handful of Verizon customers without telephone service whose service was expected to be restored yesterday, things rapidly returned to normal on Kaua’i a day after high winds and heavy rains created havoc and brought back memories of hurricanes for many residents.
As of Thursday morning, only scattered residents in Ha’ena, ‘Anini, Hanalei, Moloa’a, and portions of Olohena Road and Kawaihau Road in Kapa’a were still without power, and they should have had power restored by late yesterday, said Anne Barnes, Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative spokesperson.
A downed power pole knocked Kauai Nursery & Landscaping, the Kauai Humane Society and Kipu Ranch into darkness early Wednesday morning, but power was restored early Thursday morning, she said.
“They (KIUC crews) really did a lot of restoration yesterday (Wednesday),” Barnes said.
“As a result of yesterday’s high winds and rain, some Kaua’i customers, primarily on the Eastside (Kapa’a) may have encountered problems due to drop wires being pulled down by the winds and/or falling debris,” said Ann Nishida, media relations manager with Verizon Hawaii.
“We estimate around 50 customers were affected. Our crews went out as soon as it was possible to re-attach the fallen drop wires and restore service to all customers,” she said.
As of yesterday morning, just 18 trouble calls remained on Kaua’i, and she predicted all would be resolved by close of business Thursday.
That compared with 1,400 on O’ahu, where the storm hit Wednesday night with gusts of over 90 mph; a couple hundred on Maui, and around 50 on the Big Island, Nishida said.
“In spite of yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) severe weather conditions, Verizon’s network held up very well, and there were no major problems for our Kaua’i customers,” said Mike McKenna, Verizon Kaua’i manager.
“Our crews were already out yesterday, reattaching fallen drop wires that were blown down by the winds to homes and businesses on the Eastside of the island, and are finishing up this morning (Thursday),” he said.
Both McKenna and Nishida said that some people who were without telephone service in the storm’s aftermath may have been without that service because of a lack of electricity or internal problems with telephone equipment, and not necessarily due to problems with telephone lines.
“Kaua’i’s actually pretty much back to normal,” Nishida said.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@ pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
