Waikōloa Village residents encouraged to participate in annual evacuation drill

The gates on Hulu Street will unlock this weekend for Waikōloa Village residents to practice an annual evacuation drill on the roadway.

The drill, also known as Hulu Holoholo, will take place on Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. The annual event is meant for residents to familiarize themselves with the community’s emergency evacuation route that connects to Waikōloa Village’s main road, Paniolo Avenue, and leads to Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway.

There is only one way in and out of Waikōloa Village on Waikōloa Road, which runs from Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway to Highway 190. Hulu Street, which is usually off-limits to the public, is the only other road in the village that provides access to Ka‘ahumanu Highway.

“In times of emergency, your adrenaline is running. You need to act quickly,” said Michael Konowicz, a Waikōloa Village resident. “It’s great to prepare for the emergency when you are calm. Practicing this road will make people familiar with it and give them an option out of the village if needed.”

The annual drills on the single-lane roadway started in 2022 after the Mana Road Fire in 2021, which forced a mass exodus of thousands of residents as the blaze encroached on the South Kohala community.

Konowicz has participated in the annual evacuation drill for the past two years. He said the road is beautiful, adding he hopes the drill piques residents’ curiosity to check it out.

“It’s disappointing that Waikōloa continues to drastically grow, but the roads don’t,” Konowicz said.

Konowicz was among the residents who were forced to evacuate during Mana Road Fire, which scorched more than 40,000 acres, destroyed two homes and caused the evacuation of several West Hawai‘i communities.

“It was hectic because word of the evacuation got out before police were ready to direct traffic,” Konowicz recalled of the 2021 blaze. “There was a huge backup of traffic on Paniolo Avenue.”

Konowicz didn’t leave right away when the evacuation order from the county came down. While he was prepping to leave, he said he remembered seeing comments on social media that people were sitting on Paniolo Avenue for up to three hours just trying to get out of the village.

“The Hulu route was opened but not everyone was familiar with that,” Konowicz said.

Hulu Street remains locked at the top by Paniolo Avenue and at Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway. Keys to those gates are held by the Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Agency, fire, police and the general manager of Waikōloa Village Association.

Since the massive fire, the county has installed evacuation road signs on Paniolo Avenue and Hulu Street to guide drivers. Konowicz said the road is in “really good shape.” It once was only partially gravel, but now has been chip-sealed and fully paved.

During Saturday’s drill, residents can practice driving the evacuation route. Upon exiting the road, motorists will be directed to turn north (right) onto Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway.

Motorists wanting to go south will be instructed to turn in at Puako to change directions. Motorists won’t be able to travel up the emergency route, only down.

“We welcome residents to come and familiarize themselves with the evacuation route so that they know where to go before a disaster strikes,” Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda said. “The route is a critical lifeline for the community and can be easily driven by any passenger vehicle.”

The annual drill is organized by County of Hawaiʻi Civil Defense, in cooperation with the Police Department, the Waikōloa Community Emergency Response Team and the Waikōloa Village Association Firewise Committee.

Members of the Waikōloa Community Emergency Response Team will be there Saturday to count the number of vehicles and the number of people who participate. In addition to having someone monitor the flow from the upper bench, some team members also will be at the mauka gate to greet participants and share emergency preparedness information.

To watch a video of the route, visit https://tinyurl.com/huluholoholo.