The state Supreme Court on Monday granted a request for an emergency stay that blocks crews from working at the Thirty Meter Telescope construction site through Dec. 2.

The ruling effectively averts a confrontation on Mauna Kea this morning that would have seen protesters trying to prevent a work crew from reaching the work site to perform vehicle maintenance and repair.

It also foils TMT’s plan to conduct any other “site preparation activities” that were announced to take place sometime this month.

The motion for the emergency stay, filed late Monday, argued that the work would cause irreparable harm to Mauna Kea’s northern plateau.

The motion was filed by the Mauna Kea Hui, the same group that has appealed a Circuit Court decision on the $1.4 billion project to the state Supreme Court.

“That is excellent news,” Mauna Kea Hui leader Kealoha Pisciotta said Monday.

Pisciotta said she was hoping the court would agree that the TMT should hold off construction while a ruling on the fate of the project remains up in the air.

“They’re putting everyone at risk by going forward,” Pisciotta said. “They should be yielding and making sure everything is done legally, lawfully and correctly.”

Campbell Estate heiress Abigail K. Kawananakoa agreed, saying the state’s highest court heard oral arguments Aug. 27 and a decision likely is imminent.

“TMT’s paid advertising campaign and threat to start construction before a decision are egregious attempts to influence the court. I strongly recommend we allow the court to reach a decision without further interference,” she said in a statement.

TMT spokesman Scott Ishikawa issued this statement in response to the court ruling: “We respect the court decision and we will stand down between now and Dec. 2. The Supreme Court’s decision will give all parties involved in the appeal sufficient time to respond to the motion.”

In an apparent move to downplay TMT’s plans, Gov. David Ige said Monday morning that TMT was planning to dispatch a work crew for equipment maintenance and repairs only. That, he said, doesn’t signal the start of construction on the next-generation telescope.

“The maintenance and equipment repair work TMT plans to undertake will protect the environment and enhance public safety as we head into the winter season. This is not the start of construction of the telescope,” Ige said in a statement.

Earlier Tuesday, protest leaders were calling for supporters to gather at the mountain in anticipation of TMT work crews traveling to the work site Wednesday morning.

After hearing about the court ruling Monday afternoon, a growing throng of Mauna Kea “protectors” on the mountain were jubilant, but leaders were cautious and vowed to stay vigilant.

In an order signed by all five state Supreme Court justices, the project’s Conservation District Use Permit was stayed until Dec. 2 or until further order of the court. The court also asked that any response to the motion be filed no later than Tuesday.

Last week, after announcing poll results showing statewide support for the project, TMT announced it would send a crew of workers to the work site to conduct site preparation work this month, although no date was specified.

TMT officials did say the state had offered assurances that its workers would be able to obtain safe passage to the summit.

In his statement Monday morning, Ige said he was committed to upholding the law and providing safe access for those who need to get to the summit of Mauna Kea, “and that includes those involved with the TMT project. Our primary concern is for the safety of all.”

The governor also sent a message to the protesters: “If this work is stopped, it is not a victory. It will harm the environment. If there is violence, as some have suggested, that is not a victory. We are one community, and we must continue to search for a resolution that will keep this community together.”

But Lanakila Mangauil, leader of the Mauna Kea “protectors,” called Ige’s statement “shameful” because the governor seems to be working on behalf of a private corporation and not for the people of Hawaii.

As for the environment, the only potential harm is oil leaking from a work vehicle, Mangauil said. But that’s not even a concern, he said, because there’s an oil pan preventing the fluid from reaching the ground.

“The machines are the only threat to the environment. They need to get the machines out of there,” he said.

Mangauil also objected to the insinuation of potential violence. He said the group has always conducted itself with “kapu aloha,” the Hawaiian concept of nonviolent reverence.

“There is no record of violence — period,” Pisciotta said, adding that she felt insulted by the governor’s innuendo.

Mangauil said many of the protesters are aware that it’s the makahiki season, the time in the ancient Hawaiian religion when wars and violence were not allowed. It’s a time of rest, rejuvenation and spiritual renewal, he said.

Instead, he said, the TMT and state were forcing Hawaiians into thinking about how to protect a mountain they consider sacred.

Mangauil said he and others were particularly upset the state broke its promise to meet with the group prior to the relaunching TMT construction. The meeting, he said, was intended to discuss safety and protest ground rules and was promised as part of the agreement that led to protesters ending their 24-hour vigil on the mountain two months ago.

But Joshua Wisch, special assistant to the state attorney general, said there was no agreement to discuss safety with the protesters.

“The state only said it would provide advance notification, which it has already done,” Wisch said in an email.