Karl & Katherine to the Rescue!

Note: This post was started on 08/17 but posted after Spectrum came back on line on 08/20. 

The readings for the projects to be reviewed by the Leeward Planning Commission on Thursday started coming in last Thursday. But I had other things to do like prep for the incoming storm so I only did a brief look to see how troublesome any of them might be & put it aside for "later". I started scrambling this morning to find someone who had both power & internet & that would allow me to drop in & finish my readings! It took an hour or so & I got a response from Karl; he was busy repairing a damaged roof on their rental yurt but he had his wife Katherine call & give me directions down to their house. I am glad they have Royal Palms lining their driveway; they made it much easier to figure out which house was theirs!

 

I spent the afternoon at their house finishing the readings; they are totally off grid with everything powered by solar panels & they have Starlink. They are such great hosts; Katherine had me join them for lunch when I arrived. Just before I left she rewarded all of us with ice cream for getting through a challenging day! FYI I serve on several of North Kohala's Community Development Plan subcommittees with Karl & Katherine is an artist at the Art Co-op where I go to most of the monthly openings to support the artists.

Mahalo nui loa e Karl & Katherine for letting my use your internet to review these projects!

When I was on my way in to Karl & Katherine's I passed a large tree that had fallen across the road totally blocking it. Karl & several neighbors had been working on it in the morning when a county crew came by with very large saws, a front end loader, & a dump truck to cut things up & haul it away! He said he & the neighbors would have had a difficult time removing the tree since its girth was larger than the bars on their chainsaws. 

Verizon came back on line about 1:30 this morning; the buzzing woke me up! Hooray for Verizon! Now if only Spectrum would come back online, too! Later I called the Department of Water Supply to report that the chlorinator shed had collapsed & asked if it was safe to drink the water. A tech called back a short while later & said they had checked it out & everything was working so no need boil water. Yay!

Yes, I have my phone language set to ʻOlelo Hawaiʻi whenever possible.

Now I have deal with these 23 texts!

In the morning I had met up with Arlene at Fran's house. Many people are driving to friends' houses to check on them & find out what is happening. They were trying to figure out who had power so they could charge their phones; I told them the Powerwall had kept the power on overnight & could probably charge their phones since it was a lot sunnier today than it was yesterday. Later Fran called & came over right around dusk after I had returned home. Arlene stayed at home where her brother Wayne came by with battery packs that he charged up at his house in Hilo before coming back to the family house to help out his sisters Joy & Arlene.

Fran & Arlene.

Spencer called as I was leaving Karl & Katherine's, I gave him another ride to Takata's. He was looking for something to heat up food with, like Sterno. I told him they could come over to the house since my gas stove was working; I just needed to light it with an outside source since the piezoelectric starter was out since the power was out. But he decided to try the Sterno instead. Since I did not hear from them later in the evening it appears they were satisfied with using the Sterno to heat up their food. Personally, I would have used my MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe camp stove which I had also offered to let him use. It is part of my hurricane survival kit. 

Today Duolingo introduced me to a very important word I need to learn, "spicy". So I know what to avoid when I am eating my way through China! I am a hot food wimp! 

The Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense sent an alert notifying people that the 911 emergency number was not working. They recommended people call the non-emergency number from a landline or to go to the nearest fire station. Later they sent a recap of what is happening with various serviced today.

The Hawaiian Electric Company sent out its own announcements. Interestingly, the number of people without power increased in the 7&1/2 hours between announcements. They also noted that Kohala experienced wind gusts of up to 91 mph! No wonder those trees went down!  

The Department of Water Supply announcement identified the locations of where they have deployed temporary water tankers to provide residents with potable water. Some areas are not as fortunate as we are where our water is gravity-flow & all we need to do is not waste it so we can continue to have water while the power is out. The tank that supplies our house is just up the road around the curve; I use it as a landmark when I describe how to get to my house. If you pass the big green water tank, you have gone too far! 

The State Public Library system also issued a statement. As expected, all libraries on our island are closed. Libraries on the other islands are apparently closed today for assessment & likely open tomorrow. 

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has approved an emergency assistance fund for Native Hawaiians. Hawaiʻi Island has the largest percentage of Native Hawaiians with the hard hit Kaʻū area being about 35% Native Hawaiians.

I am glad to see that the Community Supported Agriculture subscription I have for fresh fruits & vegetables will be happening this week. Our local farmers need to have income to help repair damages. 

Tropical Storm Lālā is still close by. It currently has sustained winds of 65 mph. It is headed westerly at about 10 mph but is expected to turn & begin heading west-northwesterly in a few days when it is also expected to increase in strength & become a hurricane again by late tomorrow as it approaches the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The next episode of the eruption of Kīlauea is expected t begin some time between the 21st & the 27th.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Billy Boy & DeAndre!