Progress made toward restoring power on Maui
Hawaiian Electric said Saturday that service was restored to about 5,500 customers in West Maui since Friday. Those customers include hotels, resorts and condominiums north of Lahaina that had been without electricity since Tuesday’s high winds and wildfire.
Crews on Saturday also installed a mobile substation at the Lahainaluna substation, which is expected to help restore power today to customers in the neighboring subdivision, which includes homes, three schools and county water facilities, the company said.
With power restored in some areas of West Maui, the county said that Minit Stop on Keawe Street in Lahaina and Kahana Gateway Shell are open for gasoline purchases.
Meanwhile, Verizon reports that service has been restored along Highway 37 in Ulupalakua and Keokea and to the Upcountry area, including but not limited to Kula, Pukalani, Makawao and along the North Shore of Maui.
Verizon reported significant structural damage to cell sites serving Lahaina, so its engineers are working to move a mobile cell site to restore partial service there, according to a news release. Engineers moved tethered drones into West Maui Saturday that, when fully deployed, will provide cell service from the air for search, rescue and recovery efforts, the release said.
In the Honokowai area, fiber that connects cell sites to the rest of the network is out of service. Verizon said its engineers are working to connect those cell sites using a satellite connection instead. “Satellite links have far less capacity than the fiber typically used for connecting cell sites to the rest of the network, so customers may experience slower speeds and capacity constraints until fiber connections can be restored,” Verizon said.
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The state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation reported the Maui-Lanai passenger ferry operated by Expeditions resumed interisland service Saturday. DOBOR said it cleared the ferry dock at the Maalaea Small Boat Harbor to accommodate the ferry.
The service normally operates between the Lahaina Small Boat Harbor and Manele Small Boat Harbor on Lanai, but numerous burned and sunken vessels and debris in the water at Lahaina led to the U.S. Coast Guard establishing a temporary emergency safety zone at the harbor and in surrounding waters with no vessels allowed without approval.
Expeditions told DOBOR the company expects to offer ferry service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to provide transportation for service providers and first responders. Additional routes will be added depending on demand.