In a heavy downpour Thursday, Hawaii National Guard workers and volunteers build the first set
of temporary housing units that will consist of 20 modules, each 120 square feet. The units were
donated by HPM Building Supply and are being built on Pahoa Sacred Heart Church land behind Tin
Shack Bakery in Pahoa. HOLLYN JOHNSON/TRIBUNE-HERALD
HILO — Temporary housing for
those displaced by Kilauea volcano
will be built later this week, with
eligible evacuees to move in soon.
Brandee Menino, Hope Services
CEO, said the first set of temporary
housing units will consist of 20
modules 120 square feet in area.
Construction on some of the units
began Thursday, but most of them
will be built by volunteers and
Hawaii National Guard workers on
Saturday.
The units were donated by HPM
Building Supply and are effectively
INSIDE
BIG ISLAND LOSES A LEGEND
Herbert “Monty” Richards dies at 88,
leaves behind legacy of innovation and
endless service to the community
modified sheds, Menino said.
“The original sketch was just a
shed; we made modifications with
their design team at HPM,” Menino
said, adding that the changes
include adjustments for human
habitation such as windows.
Although the units will not
have electrical or water utilities, a
hygiene trailer equipped with three
shower units and three bathroom
units will arrive Tuesday on the Big
Island.
The units will be set up at Pahoa
Sacred Heart Church, on land
offered by the church to aid evacuees,
with five other churches in
PAGE 5A
▼
line to provide similar services.
However, Menino said only evacuees
ages 60 or older will be able to
stay at the Sacred Heart units for
the time being.
A time frame for when evacuees
will be able to move in is unclear
—“We’re using the word ‘soon,’”
Menino said.
Other, more permanent housing
solutions were discussed by Mayor
Harry Kim and Gov. David Ige
during a media briefing Thursday
afternoon. Kim said he intends to
establish a task force composed of
county, state and federal agencies
to “build a new community” for
displaced families, although he
admitted that no concrete details
about the task force have been
determined.
Such a task force likely will not
benefit from an agreement signed
by Ige and Kim on Thursday that
authorized $12 million in state
funds to aid in the county’s eruption
response efforts. The agreement
stipulates that the funds be
used for emergency supplies and
temporary shelter-related goods
and services, but not long-term
infrastructure repairs.
Kim said the funding will cover
“most” of the county’s response
expenses, estimating that the county
spent approximately $3 million
during the first two weeks following
the eruption. After the recent
escalation of volcanic activity this
week, with lava wiping out all of
Vacationland and most of Kapoho
KAILUA-KONA —
Combing through the various
color-coded air quality
monitoring websites that
serve Hawaii Island is a bit
like rifling through the scattered
pieces of the board
game “Sorry!”
Yellow, green, red, blue.
In real life, there are more
colors involved — orange,
black, purple, maroon. And
the stakes are a bit higher.
What exactly do these colors
mean? And what precisely
is each website measuring?
Sulfur dioxide? Hydrogen
sulfide? Particulate matter
2.5 micrometers in diameter
or less?
Vog has more than a couple
negative side effects,
and in the wake of the
Kilauea volcano eruption in
Puna, air quality has deteriorated
in West Hawaii
to a point not seen since
the Hawaii Department of
Health (DOH) installed a
permanent air quality monitor
in Kailua-Kona roughly
a decade ago.
But read the websites
wrong or don’t look at
enough of them, and maybe
the price you pay involves a
pair of stinging eyes after a
beach day, or a tight chest
and a persistent, hacking
cough after a 3-mile jog on
Ane Keohokalole Highway.
Oops. Sorry!
Residents who were
tired of the island’s air
quality monitoring functioning
like a board game,
only with more confusing
directions, piled into the
West Hawaii Civic Center’s
County Council Chambers
Wednesday night for a vog
forum.
The panel included medical
professionals, DOH
officials and a presenter
from the United States
Geological Survey (USGS).
The issue of the color-coding
system was broached
multiple times.
“I’m a little frustrated
with the new color chart,”
said Julie Klaz, a 10-year
Kona resident, who questioned
the panel about it.
“People are canceling their
trips because they can’t
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HI 86 LO 75 WEATHER, PAGE 8A
VOL. 50, NO. 159 18 PAGES
KILAUEA ERUPTION
Color ‘em
confused
A GUIDE TO
ACCESSING,
UNDERSTANDING
MYRIAD AIR QUALITY
REPORTS ONLINE
BY MAX DIBLE
WEST HAWAII TODAY
mdible@westhawaiitoday.com
SEE AIR QUALITY PAGE 7A
GIMME SHELTER
MODIFIED SHEDS DONATED TO HOUSE EVACUEES;
TASK FORCE TO PLAN ‘NEW COMMUNITY’
BY MICHAEL BRESTOVANSKY
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
Gov. David Ige and Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim sign a letter
of agreement Thursday releasing $12 million to support the
county’s response to the active volcanic eruption occurring on
Hawaii Island. The signing was done during a media briefing at
Hawaii County Civil Defense. HOLLYN JOHNSON/TRIBUNE-HERALD SEE SHELTER PAGE 4A
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