The county Department of Parks and Recreation announced Thursday that the Pahoa Skate Park, located at the Pahoa Regional Recreational Facility, will reopen Wednesday (Aug. 15).
The skate park is located at the evacuation shelter; as such, the parking lot above the Pahoa Community Center will be open for skate park users. Skate park users must stay within that parking lot and fenced skate park area. Skate park hours will be 2:45-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1-6 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
Additionally, the department continues its efforts to reopen the Pahoa Aquatics Center as soon possible.
Staff are vacuuming Pele’s hair, fine threads of volcanic glass formed when a spray of lava droplets cools rapidly in the air, from the water on a daily basis and will be working with a consultant to ensure the pool and filtration systems are free of the glass. During the next week, staff will continue to vacuum the pool and will backwash the sand filters to rinse all of the Pele’s hair and debris out of the filters.
If these efforts are successful, the public will be informed when the pool can reopen for recreational purposes.
“We want to get the skate park and pool open so the public can once again enjoy their Pahoa recreational facilities,” said Parks and Recreation Director Roxcie Waltjen. “Because fissure 8 produced Pele’s hair that fell into the pool, extra precautions are necessary to ensure the safety of the public and pool staff. We appreciate the public’s patience, as this has been a trying time for all of Puna.”