UPDATE: Road Reopened, Utility Restores Most Power

A section of Lindsey Road in Waimea closed Sunday because of a downed utility pole was reopened this morning.

Roger Keller, manager for distribution for Hawaii Electric Light Co., said all customers affected by the outage had their power restored Sunday night.

A HELCO spokesperson said late Sunday evening that high winds were the cause of the incident. Motorists who are heading into that area were advised to use Ala Ohia Street, commonly known better as the Waimea bypass, to get to Kona or Saddle Road.

The downed utility pole affected 4,888 customers in Kamuela and Kawaihae.

Keller said another 378 of the utlity’s customers in lower Puna were hit by power outages Sunday night when an albizia tree fell on a line.

The 378 customers in the Kapoho area lost power at about 4 p.m. but had electricity restored by 7:30 p.m.

HELCO crews were still working on a few pocket outages as a result of the windy conditions, Keller said.

The National Weather Service said a wind advisory would remain in effect for the Big Island until 6 p.m. today. A high-wind warning was in effect for Big Island summits and interior areas.

Forecasters said the winds are the product of a strong high-pressure system north of the state. The winds were expected to gradually decrease by Wednesday.