Hawaii Island’s Kona Coast was under a high-surf advisory Thursday, following heavy swells that closed East Hawaii beach parks on Wednesday and Thursday.
Waves were expected to reach between 9 and 12 feet on the Kona Coast into Thursday evening, and then increase to between 15 and 20 feet through today, according to the National Weather Service.
East Hawaii shores were calmer because the source of the swells was from a more northwesterly direction, with the other Hawaiian islands and the west side of the island were serving to absorb the energy from the swells, said National Weather Service forecaster Derek Wroe.
Meanwhile, surf heights in the rest of the state were expected to reach 18-25 feet Thursday night and into today on north-facing shores across the state, and 15-20 feet on west-facing shores.
The high surf warning was expected to remain in place until 6 p.m. today.
While East Hawaii shores received a respite Thursday, many of Hilo’s beach parks remained closed throughout the day so that county Parks and Recreation Department workers could clean up debris left Tuesday night and Wednesday morning by high tides and heavy surf.
Beach park closures included Richardsons, Leleiwi, Kealoha, Carlsmith, Onekahakaha and Coconut Island.
While no major damages were reported at the parks, items such as picnic tables and trash cans were thrown around by the large waves, according to parks and rec spokesman Jason Armstrong.
Among the people that helped to clean up after the heavy surf were students with the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program, who helped clean around Reed’s Bay, he added.
“We were very thankful for the Youth ChalleNGe group lending their support,” Armstrong said.
Meanwhile, Red Cross workers visited a home near Leileiwi Beach Park on Kalanianaole Avenue, which appeared to have been impacted by the high-water mark, said Hawaii County Civil Defense administrative officer John Drummond.
“It looked like water may have come up to the deck area of the house,” he explained.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@
hawaiitribune-herald.com.
