Ana closes highway

Hurricane Ana’s southward track around the Big Island caused the closure of Mamalahoa Highway between Pahala and Naalehu Saturday due to flooding, but little, if any, real damage, according to officials.

“We did have some flooding on Highway 11,” Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira said Saturday afternoon. “We had a couple of trees go down but no property damage. This was on Honolii road by the surf spot. Public Works did get a request for some sandbags from a residence in Waiakea Uka, and they didn’t relay any kind of property damage with that, so it might have been some water rising in the yard, that kind of thing.”

Officials closed the highway between the 57- and 58-mile markers in the Kawa Flats area at about 6 a.m. The road remained closed most of the day, although there were periods of single-lane openings, Oliveira said. He said there was also some trouble with ponding on Kalanianaole Avenue near the Port of Hilo.

The Ka‘u floodwaters left several motorists stranded for a couple of hours early Saturday morning as Hilea Bridge overflowed and Kawa Flats was inundated, Pahala resident Julie Neal said. Wood Valley Road was blocked by flooding at Kapapala Ranch, she added.

More than 7.5 inches of rain fell at the ranch, according to National Weather Service totals.

“It’s still raining heavily in Wood Valley and those folks are stranded up there,” Neal said Saturday. “Going up Wood Valley, you could see water cutting courses down through the coffee and mac nut orchards.”

Pahala did not experience winds from Ana, Neal said.

“It was all a rain event,” she said.

A flash flood watch for Hawaii Island is expected to be canceled at 6 a.m. today.

Ana provided the Big Island with some hefty rainfall totals. Hilo International Airport recorded 4.56 inches in the 24-hour period ending at 2 p.m., while Pahala received 4.59 inches.

A thunderstorm hit Hilo early Saturday morning as the storm passed about 150 miles to the south of the island.

Upslope areas experienced even heavier rains. Keaumo, a ranger station on the southeast flank of Mauna Loa in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, checked in at 11.34 inches, while the Kulani rain gauge, also on Mauna Loa, measured 7.84 inches of rain.

Leeward areas also saw some rainfall. Coffee-belt gauges in Kealakekua and Honaunau recorded 1.26 and 1.2 inches, respectively. Keahole International Airport reported just shy of an inch and usually bone-dry Waikoloa got a little more than an inch.

Chris Brenchley, a Central Pacific Hurricane Center meteorologist said thunderstorms continued to linger around the Big Island, especially the southern end, Saturday afternoon, but were forecast to dissipate overnight as Ana continued to move northwesterly up the island chain.

As expected, the Ka‘u District was hit with the strongest winds among populated areas.

“(Friday) night, we had people on the ground in Ocean View with portable wind measuring devices,” Oliveira said. “They were recording sustained winds of 35 miles an hour, with gusts up to 40.”

Brenchley said Ocean View and South Point had 45 mph gusts at one point.

“The higher elevations, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, they had wind gusts that were even stronger than that, but 45 was the strongest wind gusts we had in populated areas,” he said.

There were elevated surf levels, as well.

“The biggest surf we’ve had reported is 15 feet; those reports come from the south and southeast end of the Big Island,” Brenchley said.

A high surf advisory was in effect until 6 a.m. today with forecasters to decide if it will continue.

Only a couple dozen people used the five emergency shelters opened Friday, said Barney Sheffield, Hawaii Island disaster manager for the American Red Cross.

“It rained all night (in Hilo), heavy at times,” Sheffield said. “We closed the Waiakea shelter at 9 p.m. Friday because no one was there. We closed the other four shelters at 7 a.m. and just about everyone was already gone.”

“We dodged another bullet,” he said.

Ana remained a hurricane with 80 mph winds as it slid northwest about 140 miles southwest of Oahu on Saturday. Forecasters lifted a tropical storm watch for Maui County.

County and state parks were set to reopen today, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park reopened parts of Crater Rim Drive along Kilauea Caldera Saturday at noon, including Kilauea Visitor Center and Jaggar Museum.

Thurston Lava Tube, Kilauea Iki Overlook and all of Chain of Craters Road remain closed due to flooding. Mauna Loa Road above Kipukapuaulu (Bird Park) is closed, but Kipukapuaulu is open. Namakanipaio Campground is open. Park rangers today will reopen closed areas incrementally as hurricane impact is assessed, said park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane.

Oliveira described Ana’s glancing path around the Big Island as “just a matter of some good luck.”

“The track this past Wednesday, it was dead on … for the southeast coast of the Big Island,” he said. “Fortunately, things changed for our favor.”

The Civil Defense chief said he thinks Tropical Storm Iselle, which ravaged portions of Puna and Ka‘u in August, provided “some very valuable lessons.”

“I think our community is being a little bit more proactive and preparing themselves when something like this happens,” he said. “We haven’t had any incidents that I’m aware of and I think the credit goes to the community. People are being safer and doing the right things, preparing, staying home.”

Stephens Media reporter Bret Yager contributed.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune- herald.com.