FORESTERS
WANTED
Harvesters
needed at
Kamehameha
Schools
PAGE 9A
▼
MAJOR
OPPOSITION
Konawaena to
face Kahuku in
preseason tilt
SPORTS, 1B
▼
SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
INSIDE
An accident waiting to happen?
BOATERS AT HONOKOHAU HARBOR SAY SWIMMERS
CHASING DOLPHINS CREATING RECIPE FOR DISASTER
BY CHELSEA JENSEN
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
KAILUA-KONA — Steve Marks was
leaving Honokohau Harbor earlier this
month for a day of fishing when he
abruptly had to bring his boat to a halt.
“As we’re coming out, there’s a whole
bunch of dolphins, and then all of the
sudden, I looked and there was a whole
bunch of people in the water,” said Marks.
“I just threw my boat in neutral and I
looked to the side of my boat and there
was lady staring at me that was in the
water. And I said, ‘holy crap,’ and then
my other friend told me, ‘ho brah, I
almost bang one, too.’”
Swimming with wild dolphins is an
experience of a lifetime and a popular
West Hawaii attraction, however, boaters
say doing it near the harbor entrance is
creating an unsafe situation that needs
to be addressed before something tragic
happens.
According to boaters, some tour companies
are stopping in waters just outside
A boat’s passengers check out a pod of dolphins in the entrance of
Honokohau Harbor before heading to another area for the day. CHELSEA
SEE HARBOR PAGE 9A JENSEN/WEST HAWAII TODAY
3 brush fires
break out along
Highway 190
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
KAILUA-KONA — Fireworks appear
to have sparked three brush fires reported
within an hour Friday, forcing a road closure
on Highway 190 near Puuanahulu.
The blazes were ignited at mile markers
18, 21 and 26 starting shortly after 11 a.m.,
according to Hawaii Fire Department
officials.
The first was put out by Stafford
Lombard, who was driving by on his way
to Hilo.
Fire officials say Lombard got out of
his car and used a fire extinguisher. The
driver of a cement mixer truck stopped
to assist and smothered the remaining
flames with a hose. Firefighters came and
mopped up.
Soon after, the second fire was reported,
which was put out by the driver of a
passing Suisan truck.
Firefighters then responded to the third
fire.
The fires forced the closure of Highway
190 for about an hour as crews worked to
quench the flames of the largest fire, near
mile marker 18. It reopened just before
1 p.m.
The Hawaii Police Department said
it is investigating and believes fireworks
started the blazes. Anyone with information
or who may have witnessed the fires
being started is urged to call the Detective
Carrie Akina at 326-4646, ext. 277.
West Hawaii Today photographer
Laura Ruminski contributed to this
report.
A Hawaii County firefighter douses
a brush fire off Highway 190
near the 18 mile marker Friday
afternoon. LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII
TODAY
KILAUEA ERUPTION
DAMAGE EVERY DAY
This photo taken June 18 shows Halemaumau crater at Kilauea’s summit. Jaggar Museum and the Hawaii
Volcanoes Observatory office sits on the caldera rim on the right. COURTESY OF USGS
JAGGAR MUSEUM BATTERED BY QUAKES;
ARTIFACTS REMOVED EARLIER THIS WEEK
IN CASE OF
ROAD FAILURE
OFFICIALS
PLAN THIRD
EVACUATION ROUTE
BY TOM CALLIS
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
BY TOM CALLIS
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
HILO — The ever-growing Halemaumau
crater already has swallowed the Overlook
parking lot and might make the Jaggar
Museum unusable.
Jessica Ferracane, Hawaii Volcanoes
National Park spokeswoman, said the facility
on the edge of Kilauea caldera hasn’t
been structurally assessed, but staff have
witnessed cracks across the viewing deck as
well as inside the museum. Artifacts were
being removed earlier this week.
“Every single day, we are sustaining damage
from these ongoing earthquakes,” she
said. “The cracks and the fractures along
the overlook of Jaggar go through rocks
walls down through the ground.”
Ferracane said there is concern the building,
which also houses the U.S. Geological
SEE ROUTE PAGE 10A SEE MUSEUM PAGE 10A
Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory,
could slide into the caldera. But even if it
doesn’t, it may not be safe to reuse once the
park can reopen.
“It’s very doubtful we would ever return
to Jaggar Museum and the USGS HVO
building,” she said.
“It’s mildly possible it could be reused,”
Ferracane added. “I’m not sure if we want
to reuse it because of the proximity to a
very unstable cliff.”
Attempts to reach USGS officials Friday
were unsuccessful. On Wednesday, the
USGS Volcanoes Facebook page said it’s
too early to say if the building can be
reoccupied.
Jaggar was built in 1927 and previously
offered views of the lava lake inside
Halemaumau. That has since disappeared
as magma withdrew from the summit
in response to the lower East Rift Zone
HILO — The state Department
of Transportation is planning to
build a third evacuation route in
case Highway 130 is no longer
passable in lower Puna.
A section of the highway
between Pahoa and Kalapana
has been damaged by the ongoing
eruption on Kilauea’s East
Rift Zone but remains passable
with the help of steel plates.
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