LIHUE The opening of the Pacific Fireworks shop at Hokulei Village shopping center was greeted with the sounds of chain saws and power blowers Thursday morning.
LIHUE — The opening of the Pacific Fireworks shop at Hokulei Village shopping center was greeted with the sounds of chain saws and power blowers Thursday morning.
The shopping center’s maintenance workers as well as Kauai Nursery &Landscaping operated equipment throughout the center in an effort at clearing the fallen branches and toppled trees that were victims of the Christmas Eve storm.
“I lost count after 14,” said Stacy Chiba-Miguel, Hokulei Village general manager. “I was up early Christmas Day after getting word of trees going down. The maintenance crew was also on hand to do clearing of the hardest-hit trees. Crews from KNL are working to help the maintenance people to assess and clear the debris.”
Chiba-Miguel said most of the damage sustained at Hokulei Village was limited to trees and landscaping. There appeared to be no damage to any of the center’s structures, and no injuries were reported.
“Trees were down everywhere,” Chiba-Miguel said. “But the work done by the maintenance people allowed us to keep the center open, including the Safeway store that was filled with shoppers.”
She said the vegetative debris will be turned into compost at KNL.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
