Kuakini Highway has reopened Wednesday morning following a lengthy closure after a tree fell and knocked down utility poles and lines fronting Kona Brewing Co. in downtown Kailua-Kona.
The road reopened to both directions of travel at about 8 a.m. Wednesday. A Hawaiian Telcom spokeswoman and the Hawaii Police Department confirmed the reopening shortly after 9 a.m. A four-way stop is in place at Kuakini Highway and Palani Road because the traffic signal at the intersection is inoperable.
Officials closed the road about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday after high winds toppled the tree located on the mauka side of the highway. The tree that fell onto one of the poles and caused two other poles to break. It also caused six spans of line to fall between Palani Road and Kaiwi Street.
No injuries were reported, according to the Hawaii Fire Department.
HELCO said about 320 customers lost power. HELCO crews completed work early Wednesday, the spokeswoman said.
Ann Nishida, Hawaiian Telcom spokeswoman, crews wrapped up work Wednesday morning. They expect to return after dark to do some additional safety work.
Arrielle Larson and Hannah Delos Santos were headed southbound on Kuakini Highway in a newly rented convertible when the wind began to pick up in the area about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“And then there was this loud crack and a big boom,” said Larson. “You just see this tree just fall and it takes out the whole pole and all the wires down with it.”
National Weather Service Meteorologist John Jelsema said the gusty north winds Tuesday were fueled by a high pressure system northwest of the state and Hurricane Oho south of the state. Sustained winds were reported to be about 30 mph with gusts reaching up to 45 mph.
“That north wind just gets funneled between Haleakala and Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea through the Alenuihaha Channel and it can make it really windy and gusty in the Kona area,” he said. “With the high northwest of the state and Oho to the southeast, we’re getting a perfect setup for gusty north winds.”
Horticulturalist Norman Bezona, who writes a weekly column for West Hawaii Today, identified the downed tree as Ficus nitida/retusa. It is commonly known as a Chinese or Malayan banyan tree, he said.
