#Ka'u

Big Island police advise the public to avoid the area.

The victim was identified as 30-year-old Koa Kane Clark of Waikōloa. Big Island police have initiated a coroner’s inquest investigation into the single-vehicle collision.

Hawai’i County drivers should avoid Highway 11 in Ka’u.

There were two separate wildfires burning Wednesday afternoon on each side of Mill Camp Road in Pāhala. Police say one was determined to have started under suspicious circumstances.

The horrific mauling by a pack of four dogs that caused the tragic death of 71-year-old Bob Northrop of Kaʻū earlier this week has again shined a burning light on animal control issues that have plagued the Big Island for years.

The incident happened Tuesday morning in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates on the Big Island and is being investigated by the Hawai‘i Police Department as a negligent failure to control a dangerous dog case.

Customers who subscribe could save up to 15% on their energy costs staring next year once the three Hawai‘i Island projects selected by Hawaiian Electric are up and running.

The planned facility by the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics that would listen for fast radio bursts recently got a boost, receiving a favorable recommendation from Hawai‘i County Windward Planning Commission for a special use permit.

Benjamin “Kawika” Jerin-Kealoha of Ka‘ū is also wanted in connection with other criminal investigations.

Just three Big Island rain gauges measured less than 100% of their average rainfall for February, with several spots in Kaʻū and on the windward side of the island recording rain totals up to nearly six times greater than average.

Beginning Feb. 16 in East Hawai’i, back-to-back Kona Lows followed by persistent showers ushered in by returning trade winds drenched places from Honomū to Pāhala, but the rain finally stopped long enough on Saturday to give the saturated ground a chance to dry out a little, at least in Hilo.

There is still at least a 50% chance of scattered showers on Wednesday afternoon with that chance increasing to 80% on Wednesday night for some locations in East Hawai‘i.

The second day of severe weather is once again leading to road closures and bus route cancellations, among other impacts.

The driver, who was not identified, was the only occupant of the vehicle. Firefighters were able to rescue them safely out of the hazard uninjured.

At 9:46 p.m., radar showed heavy showers repeatedly forming over the slopes of Kaʻū and Puna, with rainfall rates between 1 and 2 inches per hour leading to significant runoff. Rainfall over the South Hilo area had eased by earlier in the afternoon.

Hawai‘i has experienced some especially strong and devastating Kona Lows in the past, one of the most recent occurred in December 2021.

The Valentine’s Day 2023 Big Island earthquake was one of eight temblors of magnitude 4.8 or higher that occurred around the Pacific from Tuesday night to early Wednesday afternoon.

The temblor struck at 9:27 p.m. about 7.5 miles southeast of Pāhala off the Ka‘ū Coast at a depth of about 20 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Despite the start of the wet season at the beginning of October, several locations on the Big Island remained dry for a good chunk of the month.

Most Big Island rain gauges saw near to above average rainfall amounts last month, according to a report from the National Weather Service in Honolulu.